Chloe and Zoe
by Canucklehead Cowgirl
Summary: Exploring Chloe and Zoe from 'Surprise for a Feral'. This will be their POV on things as they happened in the original story and it's two sequels. Recommended that 'Surprise for a Feral' and 'Natural Feral Behaviors' are read as well. RECOMMENDED TO READ ALONG WITH SFF/NFB/FFA. MAINTENANCE SCHEDULED FOR FEB 2016
1. Standard Intro

Chloe felt terrible as she woke up. It was her fault that the men had found her. She was terrified as she looked around her. Her sister wasn't next to her. She realized she was in an airplane of some sort. She looked around wide eyed finally spotting her sister looking hopeful and …. was she smiling? Yeah, there's Zoe, chatting up some woman with white hair. Wait. Where are the soldiers? She began to look around closer, shocked to see K on a stretcher, unconscious and her face bandaged so that half of it was covered.

"Chloe!" Zoe called out cheerfully "You're never gonna believe this! We just got rescued by the X-Men! How cool is that?" she bubbled. Chloe looked toward K – she'd become their lifeline in the past few months, hiding them, guiding them, and protecting them far more often than the girls thought they'd need. Who knew their parents were right all those years about strangers being dangerous?

"Is K going to be alright? She's bleeding still." Zoe said, the white haired woman smiled kindly at her.

"She should be fine once we get her to our doctor." The woman told her. "You may call me Storm for now, ladies." Chloe got up and took a seat closer to her sister. She was sure she'd seen this woman on the news at one point or another. Zoe said they were mutant freedom fighters, but the news people said they were terrorists. Storm's kind smile made her more likely to believe Zoe. She got up as the girls buckled in, making her way to the rear of the jet, checking on K and bringing them a couple bottles of water on her way up to the cockpit. It wasn't long and the sound of the engines began to wind up a bit, they were landing who knows where. Once the jet was on the ground, the two sisters began to get a little nervous. Freedom fighters or no, what the hell were they going to do with a pair of teenage girls? Before the engines had died down entirely, the door to the plane opened and an extremely furry blue man in a lab coat boarded – they recognized him from the news too. He made a beeline for K on the gurney, lifting the dressings on her face.

"Oh dear." he muttered, his attention moving to the collar on K's neck. "This is not good." He turned toward the girls, peering at them over his spectacles. "Ladies, please follow me. You'll need to convince me you haven't been similarly injured as your friend here." The sisters looked at each other warily before following him and the very tall, well built man with the mask over his face. They had to rush as the men were running as they pushed the stretcher down a long hallway, turning into a very freaky looking lab filled with bizzare machinery. There was a black woman in a lab coat who had them sit on beds facing each other, returning to them to draw blood and do a quick exam while the blue guy removed the dressings on K and cleaned up what he could of her, he was getting frustrated and she was beyond dirty making cleaning her wounds incredibly difficult. When a stunning red haired woman came in and greeted them the girls were star struck and a little scared. That was Phoenix. They watched her on the news in the center of a giant fire bird while the x-men were 'destroying government property' oh wow. She smiled kindly at them as she approached, Celia smiling at her as she sat down next to Chloe.

"So, girls – welcome. I'm Jean, you may call me Mrs. Summers while you're here. Neither of you have graduated, right?" she asked, the two girls shaking their heads quietly. "Well, we won't force you, but we have a little school here for mutants. You are welcome to stay, get an education and learn to harness your powers. Any interest?" The girls smiled, nodding their heads. "Wonderful. We'll get into the details in a little while, right now, Celia tells me you've both checked out for no serious injuries so how about we get you both cleaned up, settled in a room and fed."

"Oh, thank god." Zoe said "You have no idea how long it's been since we've had a decent shower." Jean smiled.

"Or clean clothes. We don't have anything but what's in our backpacks … and they're gone now." Chloe said quietly as Jean put her arm around her.

"Don't worry about that. We have something you can wear for now. We pick up a lot of mutants in trouble, it's kind of a specialty of ours." Jean led the girls, weaving through scary, sterile looking metal clad hallways to an elevator that opened up to the most rich, elegant, beautiful old-english style manor either had ever seen. She led them up a flight of stairs and down a hallway to a room not halfway down the hall.

"This one is open. We have everyone share a room, take your time cleaning up, there are some sweats on the beds – there's all kinds of product in the bathroom down the hall, and plenty of fresh towels. Everyone is in class right now, so you don't have to worry about being interrupted. When you're done, just come down stairs and I'll make sure you both get something to eat. Sound good?" Jean asked. Good? Sounded like a dream come true right now. They'd lost track of the time when they were with K. Had to be at least 4 months. They'd met her in June and it was fall now. The girls washed up, dried off and did their hair for the first time in months. The sensation of being clean nearly foreign.

"Zoe, you're going to need new color." Chloe said looking in the mirror at her older sister. If not for a few subtle differences, the sisters could have passed for twins, their faces were nearly identical, cute little upturned noses, green eyes, and full lips. Their heights were within a quarter of an inch of each other - Zoe being slightly taller at 5'8".

"I know. I hate when it's like this." Zoe replied, scrunching her nose up as she stared at herself in the mirror. Normally, her hair was shoulder length, and before they were on the run, she'd taken to dyeing the bottom six inches or so some bright neon color. You could almost see the pink that was there when they left their parents against the freshly washed strawberry blonde - almost. She sighed, unhappy with how frizzy it had gotten. Something else she hated. Good god, what she'd give for a flat iron right now.

Chloe on the other hand was fairly contented with her appearance, blessed somehow with hair that was naturally bone straight and appeared almost bleach blonde, all she'd ever really needed to do was make sure it was cut the way she liked. They did the best they could with what was in front of them, the sweat suits provided them were of course so baggy it was laughable, particularly since body wise, they were both skinny, though the months of hard living had blessed them with a fairly good muscle tone, and according to Chloe, nearly zero body fat.

They made their way downstairs as instructed to find a handsome brunette guy reading a newspaper at the table in the kitchen.

"Oh, Hi. You must be new – I didn't know anyone was going to be around. I'm Bobby … er, Mr. Drake that is. You _are_ going to be students, right?" he asked, Zoe blushing slightly as he stared at them. Chloe nodded her head. "Great! Hey – you look like you just got here, hungry?" he asked, hopping up and pulling out random stuff from the fridge. They girls ate ravenously. Neither could remember the last time they had a full meal. Mr. Drake didn't say a word, he just kept reading his paper, waiting for them to finish. When they were coming to the end of their meal he casually tried to strike up a conversation.

"You guys meet the prof yet?" he asked, his head in his hand, elbow on the table as he watched them.

"No. Not yet. Are we – in trouble?" Chloe asked. Bobby shook his head.

"Not with us." he replied, offering to take them to see the prof when they'd cleaned up.

…...

"Come in, Robert." a kind voice said as he touched the door. Bobby smiled at the girls as he leaned into the heavy door, pushing it open. "Chloe, Zoe. So nice to meet you. I'm Charles Xavier, welcome to our school." He was warm in his welcome as the girls made their way across the room, sitting in the chairs in front of his desk as the tall pilot from the plane nodded to them nearby.

"Please, tell me about yourselves." Charles said, smiling softly at them.

"Well, we're from Kansas. Our parents knew what we were and tried to protect us. But one of the neighbors called the MRD, and our folks gave us all the money they had on them, a few credit cards and had an old friend of theirs take us where we thought we could hide." Zoe said while Chloe looked at her hands. "Um, I can make like, shockwaves or something." Zoe mumbled.

"Wonderful. We can help you learn to harness your abilities." Charles said as Zoe blushed. He turned to Chloe.

"And, I uh – I can like, talk to animals. They do what I ask them to – but I don't tell them to do anything weird." Chloe said. Charles smiled at her.

"We can assist you in furthering your control of your abilities as well, if you wish." the girls didn't discuss it before both nodded. "Could you tell me why those men were chasing you?" he asked. Their abilites were nothing clearly useful to Weapon X as far as he could tell, so it fell to the woman currently unconscious in Hank's lab. He made a mental note to Hank to restrain the woman before she woke up, fearing destruction should she be one that had been in their 'care' before.

"Um, I don't know. We were only outrunning MRD before we ran into K. She kept us out of trouble for months, but then soldiers started showing up in the little towns we were hiding in instead of MRD." Chloe said. "It's my fault they found us. I used a credit card. Didn't know it would be that big of a deal." she admitted sadly. Charles smiled sadly at her.

"Did you know her before you started running?" he asked. Zoe shook her head.

"No, we met her in a National Park in northern Minnesota. She was waaay out in the woods. We'd gotten turned around, wandering for like three days in the deep woods and she had a little camp there. It was our fault the MRD found it. They trashed it while she helped us hide, pushing us to move faster. She was always pushing us to move faster. Quieter. She kept us alive out there." Zoe explained sadly. Charles watched the girls reaction, glancing into their minds as they remembered how K handled things. He wrinkled his brow as he realized that this K was indeed something Weapon X would want. The girls weren't aware, but she was, from what Charles had seen of their memories, a feral.

"It's a very lucky thing you found her then." he smiled. "Robert here will take you to the mall, I'm assuming you ladies would like to get some more fashionable clothes? Robert, make sure they follow the dress code." The girls couldn't believe their ears.

"We don't have any way to pay." Zoe said quietly.

"Don't concern yourself. I have an account especially for incoming students such as yourselves. Go, be teenagers." Charles said as the girls left, thanking him as they slipped out the door.

…...

When they returned laden with new clothes and makeup and shoes and hair care products they both felt a little awkward. Here they were having a great time and their protector was in some lab. Once they were dressed like teenagers again they went back downstairs to see if Bobby or Mrs. Summers or someone could let them see K.

"I'm sorry girls. We're not letting anyone near her right now. The collar on her is very dangerous. When she gets it off, you'll be able to see her." Mrs. Summers told them, looking very apologetic. "If it makes you feel better, which, it probably won't – she still hasn't woke up yet so visiting wouldn't do you much good anyhow. How about we talk about your schedules?"

An hour later, they both had full schedules and instructions on where everything was, Mrs. Summers walking them through the halls, showing them around.

The classes were unlike anything they'd been to before. The rooms were relaxed, smallish classes and incredibly good looking teachers in all of them. The other students were very welcoming and Chloe struck it off with a little Asian girl right off the bat. She was garishly dressed in bright neon colors, she called all the teachers by their first names, or nicknames she had for them and all of them treated her closer to family than a student. Jubilee was the girl you wanted to hang out with. They were tickled when she approached them, inviting them to lunch with her. They had a blast together, and they were amazed at how the X-men found her – or she found them.

"You mean, you _helped_ that scary guy that's on the news sometimes with the claws? Isn't he like a murderer?" Chloe said wide eyed. Jubilee waved her hand in the air.

"He doesn't kill anyone that doesn't have it coming. All bad guys – all of them trying to kill him first." She said as if it were weather or sports they were discussing. "Besides, we saved each other. Believe me, you _want him on your side._" They were between classes a when K called out to them.

"K? You look so – different." Chloe said. Holy shit. The woman running them through the woods looked somehow smaller now that she was all cleaned up. But her face was still very raw and painful looking.

"Different? Why isn't your face fixed?" Zoe said, horrified that she was still so beat up. She should be healed.

"The collar she has on is stopping her abilities from working, girls." Jean cut in. "You can talk later – you have a class to get to, don't you? Professor Munroe doesn't tolerate tardiness."

"Of course, Ms. Summers." Zoe said, wishing she could apologize to her. "See you later, K." she said smiling as they turned from her running to catch up with Jubilee. Well, at least she was awake now. They didn't have to worry quite so much about her. They went to their classes, hoping that they'd get a chance to talk to her soon. They were understandably upset when they went to find her the next day just to be told that she was back in the lab. To make matters worse, the handsome Mr. Summers wasn't teaching their combat class anymore. Turns out he was just a substitute for the scariest man they'd ever met. His voice set the girls on edge. The whole class looked terrified as they started. Well, everyone but Jubilee. Oh shit. Mr. Logan was Wolverine? He was so _hard _on them. It didn't matter that they'd never really fought before. He expected them to be at the same level as the rest of the class after two days? The man was a freakin' sadist! They felt like they'd had their asses handed to them six different ways when they left his class. Zoe was feeling extremely picked on seeing as he pulled her out of the line up to demonstrate two different techniques with. She hurt everywhere.

"Don't take it like an insult." Jubilee said "He just wants to make sure you can defend yourself. It's like, what he does. Really, he wasn't picking on you." She defended him as if his throwing Zoe to the mat repeatedly was equal to a math teacher asking you for answers on simple algebra. Zoe was in shock of Jubilee's incredible ability to ignore Mr. Logan's snarly attitude. Chloe shook her head.

"I know you're like, friends with him, but I don't think I'll ever be able to warm up to him. He's awful." Chloe said, Jubilee shaking her head, mouth drawn tight.

"You just don't know yet. He's a good guy. I'm telling you." Jubilee said. A couple days after that encounter, and two more sessions with Wolverine under their belt, the girls were feeling a little more competent. Jubilee was right. His attention on them meant pressure to perform, and they quickly started pushing themselves harder to catch up where they could. It was after one of his classes that they were in the game room, people were playing pool, screwing around having a good time in general when Chloe spotted Wolverine walking out toward the woods with … what looked to be K.

She looked weak, worn out. Amazingly, she was holding onto him, and it looked like he was keeping her upright, looking at her from time to time as they walked to the trees, disappearing into the forest. She got a chill when they slipped from sight. She'd started to force herself to see things from Jubilee's eyes, and although she didn't like him, she wasn't terrified of him anymore, until during his demonstration with Hisako earlier his claws popped through her armor, stopping millimeters from her eyes. It was the first time the girls had seen his claws in person, and he'd almost accidentally killed a student, even admitting that he didn't know his claws would go through her armor. Clearly he was psychotic, and this incredibly dangerous man was now walking their protector – their friend, their defenseless friend whose abilities weren't working into the woods alone? The girls had seen K's claws – flashes of them, but they were nothing like the shiny crazy sharp ones that Mr. Logan had. His were terrifying – or maybe it was that he had weapons like that. Either way, she didn't like it. It took her a good long while to tear her eyes from the forest, only to startle with the rest of the room when there was an explosion deep in the forest that was clearly audible from within the closed windows of the game room, shaking the windows even. Several of the teachers were running for the doors when Mrs. Summers stepped in front of her husband, blocking his path.

"They're fine. Leave them alone. They'll be in soon." She told him. Mr. Summers looking to the treeline over her shoulder, clearly still wanting to check on them. "Trust me. This could be a very good thing. Remove a little unwanted attention?" she said meaningfully. Her husband smirking for a moment as he watched the smoke rise up from the trees.

"Is that a great idea?" he asked as she pulled him toward the kitchen. Chloe and Zoe looked at each other, relaxing slightly. She was alright, but what was the story with the explosion? Zoe slapped her sister in the arm a short time later when she spotted them walking back from the forest. K looked to be totally healed now, and was in fact, quite pretty. Not only that but both of them were smiling. He had a large blood spot on his shirt, and K had a ring of dirt around her neck. They watched the teachers rush out to meet them on the lawn, just far enough away that the growing crowd of students couldn't hear what they were saying, the crowd dispersing quickly when Mr. Logan got near the door. The girls stared at the blood on his shirt and jeans. He didn't look like he had a scratch on him as he passed by. Suddenly they realized that their friend and their scary teacher had the same abilities. They had no idea why Mr. Logan's claws were metal, but everything else was eerily similar. They decided to try to catch K, but were stopped by Jubilee insisting they start a game of basketball with some of the boys.


	2. Old Friends and New

Zoe tried to find K after the basketball game, but didn't see her anywhere. Mr. Drake saw her looking from room to room as he watched football on tv, finally asking her if she was lost.

"No, I'm looking for K. I wanted to talk to her, you know? I've barely seen her since we got here." she told him as Chloe caught up with her, the two of them looking at him expectantly, practically begging him to point them in her direction.

"Well, you're not going to find her here. She went for a ride with Logan a couple hours ago." He told them. "You're welcome to wait with me, just watching the Patriots." he gestured to the open spaces on the couch that weren't occupied with other teachers – mostly the male ones.

"No, that's alright. I'll catch her later. Thanks." Zoe said as they waved, heading back to the teenagers' games outside. What was K doing with him? Sure, they had a few abilities in common, and he was built, but come ON. Why him? Why not any one of the other good looking NICE teachers here? Chloe was thinking in a similar frame of mind, listening for the roar of a motorcycle. The girls woke up the next morning to the sound of Jubilee yelling at someone down the hall. They crept out of bed, peeking around the corner in time to see her about six inches away from Logan's face shouting at him, both of them looking sour. They didn't hear what they were arguing about, but the shift on his face made them think that he'd screwed up somehow with her, both of them genuinely shocked when Logan smirked at her and ruffled her hair before turning and walking away. Maybe he wasn't as bad as they thought. But getting a reaction like that from him had to be tough. They ducked back around the corner rushing back to their room before Jubilee saw that they were eavesdropping on her.

When they got down to the game room, the place was buzzing. Apparently, K and Logan had been out all night. The girls were sickened at the rumors flying. One said she was clearly easy if she'd disappear with him of all people and return unashamed of herself the next day. Another rumor was that they'd gotten into a fight with MRD or the Brotherhood, or a Sentinel. The mildest one being that they just had motorcycle troubles. Chloe was hoping it was motorcycle trouble while Zoe took another angle.

"Hey, maybe class will be easier if he's in a better mood." Zoe said on their way to movie night.

"Zoe, really? You're alright with her screwing him if it makes class easier? He's going to hurt her." Chloe said, frustrated with her sister's selfish reasoning. Zoe shrugged.

"I'm just saying it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. We really don't know what kind of person she was before she was running in the woods." Zoe said as they turned the corner, nearly slamming into Jubilee.

"Hey. You guys wanna sit together? I got a prime spot picked out, pizza should be here any minute." she smiled, clearly in a better mood than when they saw her earlier. They agreed and headed down together. They were joking around having a good time waiting for the movie to start when Jubilee went quiet, staring into the kitchen with a blank look on her face.

"Jubes – hey. Earth to Jubilee." Zoe said, poking her in the arm, Jubilee finally turning her head toward her. "I was asking if we're going to stay for both movies." Jubilee's eyes were locked on the kitchen as they talked, clearly distracted. Chloe sneaked a peak to see K sitting at the table with Logan having a beer. She didn't understand why Jubilee was so irritated until she saw that Logan was clearly very into K, smiling at her, reaching across the table to run his finger along her arm, paying close attention to her. She wrinkled her brow, wondering if Jubilee had a crush on their teacher. The movie started and their attention went to the screen, a comedy on that was quick to get into the jokes. In the middle of it, Zoe watched Jubilee mid laugh suddenly stop and watch as Logan and K left to go outside. Jubilee stared at the door a moment.

"Anyone know who the K person is that Logan picked up? He doesn't ever bring these girls home, so what's the story on this one?" she asked suddenly, startling Chloe from the movie.

"Oh, come on Jubes. He probably found her at some bar somewhere. I don't understand why you worry about stuff like that." Paige said as Jubilee nodded her head in agreement.

"I heard she was picked up from that MRD raid that Magneto's people did and that Mr. Summers got to her before Magneto could." Hisako said on Jubilee's other side.

"That's not what happened at all. We were with her when Mr. Summers came and got us." Chloe said, tossing a few popcorn kernels in her mouth. Jubilee looked as though someone had thrown cold water on her

"Yeah, she saved our butts a lot before those soldiers caught up with us. She's kinda scary when she gets wound up" Zoe confirmed. Already they'd seen how quickly a juicy rumor got out of control around here. They didn't want K painted as some loose woman. Jubilee started to stand, motioning for the girls to go with her.

"What do you mean?" Jubilee asked as they made it to the next room over. Jubilee's eyes widened as the girls talked, making them wonder what the big deal was. Sure, they had some similarities on the surface, but that's it. They were startled when she just up and left them with Paige, the three of them returning to their spot to finish the movie out. They were confused when Jubilee rejoined them some time later looking green as she sat down with them.

They missed Jubilee in the kitchen the next morning, but almost caught K as she was laughing with Mr. Summers, both of them grinning at each other when they came inside. Chloe covered her mouth and Zoe stared openly when Logan slipped up behind her practically molesting her right there in the kitchen in front of students, the Summers', and God. And she _liked it_. Oh god no. At least some of the rumors were true then. Their friend was sleeping with their combat teacher.

The crowd broke up quickly when Mrs. Summers left with K toward the elevators. Apparently, the adults that came here had to go through an evaluation of their abilities and today was her day. Chloe and Zoe were in the hall at the top of the stairs – a spot they found suited them well. They could hear what was going on in both the teachers' wing and downstairs from there. They already knew what was happening with the students, so this kinda let them fill in the gossip from the other half. They froze when they heard footsteps rushing up the stairs. Zoe gasped and covered her mouth as Logan seemed to materialize ahead of the footsteps, a very bloodied K in his arms. He looked deadly serious as he rushed down to his room. What the hell was going on? Jubilee was hot on his heels, running past him and helping him with the door? What? The girls abandoned the thought of being entirely passive and tiptoed down the teachers wing, camping out as close to Logan's door as they dared, trying to hear what was going on. When they realized they couldn't make out what was being said, only really catching Logan's low rumble, the words too quiet to hear properly, they retreated to their spot hoping to avoid getting into trouble, dying to know what the hell was going on. Between them, they'd hypothesized what could have happened – at the moment their most favored theory being that Logan got carried away in the danger room and worked her over.

"But that doesn't explain why he took her to _his_ room." Chloe argued. Zoe was stumped, but Chloe couldn't come up with a better explanation.

"I wonder what happens in an evaluation anyhow." Zoe said after a while.

"Do you think we'll have to do one too? I mean, if you have to fight him to earn a spot here ..." Chloe said, her eyes wide. Zoe shook her head. Both jumped a few moments later when they heard a door close down the teacher's hall. They looked around the corner, waiting to see something when K and Logan came down the hall, his hand on the small of her back as they made their way down the stairs. Zoe just shook her head as Jubilee came and flopped down with them.

"Your friend is a bad ass." Jubilee said suddenly, leaning back on her hands. She looked shocked.

"Yeah, we told you that already." Zoe said going back to her book.

"No, I mean, she's a serious bad ass. Like, she can probably keep up with Wolvie with some more training." Jubes said. "She's damn near there right now. Holy shit." She then started telling the girls tales of Sabretooth, how long he and Logan had fought between them and how much the two hated each other. How he'd use people close to Logan just to goad him into fights. How she was totally flipped the hell out because Logan's birthday was coming up and all that really meant was a visit from Creed and Logan either coming home bloodied to hell and back or them having to go find him and scrape him off a rock somewhere.

"So this guy beats Wolverine?" Chloe said, terrified at the thought of someone nastier than him. Jubilee just nodded her head as an answer.

"Yeah, sometimes. It's about 50/50. But that's not all. Creed _wants_ K. They've tangled in the past too, and she just took him out in the danger room. She's a bad. Ass." Jubilee said with a finality.

"Wait. So, he's going to be coming? Here?" Chloe asked. "And he's got it in for K?" Jubilee nodded.

"Yeah, but we've got like, nearly a week. No need to sweat it until maybe like a day or two before. Then we'll have to watch out for him." Jubilee said. "Hey, I'm going to the lake. You guys wanna take a walk?" Zoe looked horrified at the thought.

"Are you kidding? After telling us about that lunatic you want to go out for a walk? Are you nuts?" Chloe asked, the two of them deciding that perhaps the library would be the best place to study after all. That night, not long after they'd gone to bed Mr. Wagner came to their door asking if they'd seen Jubilee.

"No, she went for a walk by the lake earlier. Haven't seen her since." Zoe told him. He thanked them then told them to stay where they were. The mansion was on lockdown.

The school was abuzz the next morning. The rumor mill was in full swing fabricating the possibilities of what went down. The only thing known for sure was that Jubilee was involved, and now was incredibly bruised and sore, unwilling to discuss it with the other students, even as details came out that Wolverine had gotten pretty severely thrashed in the process of saving her ass. Few believed that Wolverine had been hurt that badly until Hisako and Paige admitted that they'd seen he and K exiting the elevator, K seeming to help him stand as they made their way upstairs, Wolverine covered in blood, his uniform in tatters. Things were still buzzing that night when the alarm was raised – immediate evacuation in the dead of night. Chloe and Zoe were terrified, but Jubilee led them to the emergency escape tunnels, calm and focused as they ran.

"What happened? Why are we running?" Chloe asked as they turned into the darkness, Jubilee's fireworks lighting their way.

"Sabretooth must be working for someone bad. Like, really bad." Jubilee said.

"But I thought they beat him last night?" Chloe said, suddenly terrified even more than she was a moment ago.

"We did, but X-Men don't kill … well, most of them don't. They brought him back here. He must have had a tracking device on him. Soldiers are on their way here – probably to capture Wolvie, though I wouldn't be surprised if they're after K." Jubilee said, as though this conversation was normal and common knowledge. After the girls freaked out, Jubilee promised to explain as much as she was able after they got to safety.

At the safe house, Jubilee told them in hushed whispers about Logan's torture at Department K, how they'd experimented on him, and how the same people had tortured K similarly. How they'd had plans for their friend, and that this assault was likely those soldiers coming for her. They were wild eyed with fear.

"So the soldiers that had us drugged when Mr. Summers picked us up? That was them?" Zoe said horrified.

"Looks like it." Jubilee said. The severity of the situation accentuated by the black eye and swollen lip Jubilee was sporting. "We just have to wait until we get the all clear from Cyclops. They'll have it under control."

Hours later, Scott did show at the safe house, beaten to hell, the slashes across his chest still oozing blood as he stood in front of the student body as a whole, teachers and students looking for some hope from him.

"The school is clear. Everyone can now return, no classes today. Everyone get some sleep." he said, a sad tone to his voice. Jubilee was alarmed and jumped to her feet, running to Scott and grabbing his arm.

"Hey! Fearless leader! Where is Wolvie?" she asked, panic clear on her face. Scott set his jaw as he looked at her sighing.

"I'm sorry, Jubes. He's gone. They took him and K. We have no way to track them right now either. When we get back to the school, Forge has to do some repairs before the Professor can even use Cerebro. We'll find him. Don't worry." He told her, squeezing her shoulder as she broke down in tears.


	3. Outside Looking In

Jubilee was inconsolable. She felt guilty that Logan was gone – the tracking device Creed had on him would never have made it into the mansion had they not had to go after her in the first place. The girls didn't have clue one as to what to say to her. They could see both sides. It was Zoe that spoke up first.

"He didn't really _need_ the tracking device did he? I mean, he knew where Mr. Logan was. If this was a beef for that, he could have told them at any time, right? I mean … the tracker had to be for them to get K. Looks like they took him as a bonus." Zoe said out of nowhere as Jubilee and Chloe stared at her.

"I don't know. They haven't wanted him for years. Why take the chance now? I mean, in his big picture, she's not anyone_ that_ special – no offense to your friend, but she's not really the kind he usually falls for." Jubilee said bluntly. Chloe was shocked at Jubilee's dismissal of K as anyone worthwhile. Hadn't she told them not too long ago that she was a bad ass? What changed in her perception?

Nearly a week went by before the blackbird took off suddenly in the middle of the day. There were no classes as it was a Saturday and the student body present in the game room rushed to the window to watch it leave. Jubilee was hopeful as she realized that Scott and Storm were in their stealth ops uniforms, which only meant they were going to try to be sneaky, and sneaky probably meant they were looking for Wolvie. They didn't return until nearly dark, the rest of the kids had gotten bored and found other things to do. Jubilee however waited in vigil in the game room where she could easily see the bird come back in and rush down to the hangar. She missed them in the hangar, but watched as Hank dressed K in a gown then put an IV in her, several leads already dotted across her chest. What did they _do_ to her? Logan stepped out from behind a curtain, having apparently just pulled on some sweats. He looked tired when he looked up to her. He took a seat next to the sleeping woman, only leaving when Charles came and asked him to talk to him in private. Chloe had found Jubilee by now and Logan looked sad as he, Scott and Charles passed them on their way to one of the conference rooms often used for debriefings.

She didn't know what to think, and Chloe started to walk into the med lab when Hank stopped her a few feet into the door.

"I'm sorry Chloe. You can't come in here now. She seems to be perfectly healthy, and I'm sure you can talk to her tomorrow, but right now she needs rest. Chloe nodded and unpredictably rushed to Dr. McCoy, wrapping her arms around him, teary eyed.

"Please take good care of her. I don't want to see anything bad happen." Chloe said, deep relief that K was still around, and totally unaware of whatever she'd been through. Hank felt sorry for the girl, giving her a squeeze before sending her out of the lab.

"She looks OK, right?" Jubilee said, wondering why someone with a healing ability was still unconscious. Chloe nodded.

"Like she always does." she replied as the girls headed back upstairs. Jubilee knew it would be a while before Logan was going to be free to talk to her. A few days later, Chloe went with Jubilee to see Logan, who was working on his motorcycle. There was nothing wrong with it, he was just grumbling in a foul mood and polishing the chrome, just to have something to do while the danger room was being used by Kitty's fencing class. Jubilee wondered why he was in such a foul mood – didn't he have a thing with K? He was in a worse mood than he'd been in for months. In fact, the last time he was this cranky was after Jean told him in no uncertain terms that it would never – _ever_ happen between them.

"Hey Wolvie – hows it goin?" Jubes tried, Logan glaring at her as if she was the cause of his problems. He grunted in response, no tiny glimpse of friendliness anywhere on his person. Chloe wanted to cut and run, but Jubilee kept a hold of her hand, dragging her with toward the angry Wolverine. There was no where else in the world Chloe would rather NOT be.

"Whadda ya want Jubilation." he growled out when she sat next to him, still holding on to Chloe. "Yer friend there smells like she's scared out of her damn mind. You should take a cue from her, kid." Jubilee rolled her eyes at him, shaking her head.

"Come on, big guy. What's buggin ya? Who ticked ya off? How can I help?" she rattled off.

"Just leave me be, Jubes. Ain't none a yer damn business anyhow." he snarled at her. Stunned, Jubilee took half a beat before she stood up, open mouthed. He really was pissed.

"Are you mad at me?" she asked, upset at the prospect.

"Not yet. But I will be if you don't leave me the hell alone." he grumbled. She looked hurt as she spun on her heel, Chloe in her wake as they left. When they were well clear of the garage, she turned to Chloe.

"You should find your friend and figure out what the hell happened between them to make him so mad. I know it's her fault." Jubilee said, tears in her eyes. Chloe nodded.

"Jubes, I haven't been able to find her since she got back. Mr. Summers says she's here, but I haven't seen her at _all." _Chloe explained. They met up with Zoe, Paige and Hisako and the girls decided to make a team effort to find the feral woman and find out what had happened. It was another week when they realized how hard it was going to be to find her, even if she was just in the house, if she didn't want to be found. Zoe caught a glimpse of her, but by the time she got to the room K had gone into, she was gone without a trace. It was unnerving. They'd all but given up when the girls were studying in the living room next to the kitchen when Zoe heard K's voice quietly asking Mrs. Summers a question. The trio snuck over to peek around the corner, all of them shocked when they finally saw her. She was gaunt. Scrawny and pale. She looked like she was ready to fall over. Jubilee covered her mouth in shock when she heard Jean say something about adamantium poisoning. She ran down the hall and up the stairs, slamming the door behind her, the girls on her tail, confused as to why she'd be so upset about K.

"Jubilee, come on. Let us in. What's wrong?" Zoe said, leaning on her door. After a few minutes, she opened it, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Adamantium poisoning? No wonder Wolvies such a bear! Those soldiers took her in to weapon x. She's like him now, and it's killing her. She's pushing him away for it too. He must like her a lot more than I thought. And now? Now he's going to take off again." she cried at the thought as the girls pushed her back into her room, trying to sort out the details.

"What do you mean she's like him? Wasn't she before?" Chloe asked Jubilee shaking her head.

"Well, yeah, but now she's got her skeleton coated in that damned metal. That's what Jean was talking about – she's carrying eighty pounds of it now. That's probably just enough for her skeleton and claws." Zoe's eyes widened. The girls hashed over the ramifications of what might be all the way up until Kitty ran the rounds, making sure every one was in bed. She knocked before she stuck her head through the door.

"Jubes, have you seen – Oh. There you are, girls. Come on, break it up, it's time for bed." she said, walking through the rest of the way when she saw the look on Jubilee's face. "Jubes? What's wrong?"

"K's got adamantium poisoning and Wolvie's pissed off at me." she said. "It's my fault." Kitty made her way to her, sitting down next to her with her arm across her shoulders.

"It's not your fault. Those people have been after her for a few years. Wolvie isn't mad at you, he's mad at her." she explained. Jubilee was now thoroughly confused.

"Why? What happened?" she asked. Kitty looked at the two girls across from her before sighing.

"You two are her friends, right?" she said, the sisters nodding their heads. "None of what I tell you can leave this room, got it?" Kitty said, not sure if she should tell them anything. The three girls nodded.

"Department K – Weapon X, that is, is where they were. From what I read in Logan's report, they made him watch as they bonded her skeleton." Kitty said, taking a break as Jubilee stared at her. "It was highly traumatic for both of them. If that wasn't bad enough, when K broke them out, Creed chased them down and beat Logan within an inch of his life before making him watch while he raped K." The three girls were horrified. "She's been avoiding everyone since they returned, and Logan hasn't been able to get her to talk to him since a few days after they got back. You should know, Jubilee, that he really cares for her. He's hurt, and yes, if something doesn't change soon, one or both of them will run. That's from Betsy." she said as Jubilee began to feel guilty.

"It's my fault. If Creed hadn't caught me -"

"If Creed hadn't caught you then, he would have seen her when he came to fight with Logan and it would have just happened a week later. You had nothing to do with this." Kitty told her. She then looked to the other girls. "You know nothing. Got it?" The girls nodded, all of them looking pale. "Now, you girls head to bed. If you have any concerns about this, come to me. I'm watching the situation closely." The group called a night, and was shocked the next morning when they saw K and Logan cozied up over coffee, his arm around her as he kissed her temple. Jubilee let out a sigh of relief and they headed off to the game room to try to snag the video game controllers before the place filled up with other teenagers. They were getting animated on the ps3 when there was an uproar from some of the students near the window, which was getting clogged up with bodies looking outside.

"What's going on?" Jubilee said, as she looked over her shoulder at the growing crowd. Bobby walked in the room laughing at the kids gathered up.

"Iron Man. He's with Scott and they're figuring out what to do about the shitty security system we have. He's waving to the kids as he spots them. It's been happening here and there." he explained, Jubilee grunted and went back to her game.

"Iron Man? Seriously? Holy shit!" Chloe said, trying to spot him.

"Language, missie – and don't worry, he'll be in and out as they get things rolling. We have a couple Avengers on the X-Men, you know." he said, a little miffed at her response.

"I didn't realize – who are they?" Chloe asked, sitting down next to him.

"Dr. McCoy and Logan." Chloe was wide eyed.

"I didn't know Wolverine was an Avenger." Zoe said. Bobby nodded.

"Yeah, he's on a few different teams. That's why he bounces in and out of here all the time." He replied. The girls watched out the window trying to catch a glimpse of the notorious billionaire, stars in their eyes as Jubilee and Bobby battled in their game. They finally had given up and were headed towards the stairs to get back to their homework when Mr. Summers and the famous Iron Man himself walked past them, and actually smiled at them as he made his way to the Professor's office. The girls didn't know what to do with themselves but were seriously tickled for the rest of the day.

A week or so later, K made an appearance in the game room. She didn't look as gray as she did not too long ago as she sat near Jubilee.

"I hear you're a gymnast." K said to the little firecracker. Jubilee was confused, but nodded.

"I used to be. Not to toot my own horn, but if my parents hadn't been murdered, I'd probably have gone to the Olympics." she said, both pride and sadness in her voice.

"Well that's a hell of a lot better than what I was looking for. I need a coach – are you interested?" K asked to the surprise of not only Jubilee, but pretty much anyone within earshot.

"What about Logan?" she asked, wondering if it was a set up.

"He's great if I want to look like a body builder, but I'd like to at least pretend that I can pull off feminine. You're the resident expert, so ..." K said, leaving it open.

"Well, yeah … sure. I mean, um, how do we do this?" she asked clearly taken off guard.

"You tell me – danger room, I'm guessing, unless there's equipment around here somewhere."

"Gym. Plenty of mats and beams in the gym. Get into something easier to move in and we can start now if you want – I'm done with my homework, and this game is getting boring." she said, handing the controller over to Paige. K nodded.

"See you in a few then." K said as she got up and headed upstairs to change. Chloe and Zoe decided to go along to see what kind of work Jubilee was going to ask her to do.

She showed up in yoga pants and a tank top. Not exactly set for gymnastics, but it would do for now. Jubilee was surprised at how easy K took direction from her. No one had asked for her help before, and here was this woman that didn't see the slightest problem with asking a teenager for guidance. Maybe it was that on it's own, but Jubes was really starting to like her. It was easy working with her – she picked it up fast and moves that would take most people months to learn K could build the muscle for in days. Chloe had started to try to learn too, watching K made it look easy, but she quickly became discouraged when she didn't progress as quickly, Jubilee and K both encouraging her to keep giving it a shot. K added her own stuff to the workout regimen that Jubilee had started with her. The one that none of them could get yet was her handstand pushups. Jubilee almost got it when they were against the wall, but when K started doing them in the middle of the room, well, no one else even tried. Jubilee pulled Logan in one day to watch K's push ups, his commentary about her curves nearly making her lose her balance. The girls were enjoying watching the two of them banter. Jubes was pushing for Logan to start working with K, and it happened to the girls' delight a few days later. It was during this session that Chloe and Zoe got to finally see Logan in a whole different light.

The girls, Jubilee and her roommate were all gathered to watch what would have to be a good show. And a good show it was. The couple went back and forth until to everyone's shock, she had him solid. She looked furious, but he made a few dirty innuendos before he pulled her into a kiss to the disgust of the sisters and the embarrassment of Jubilee.

They decided it was time to call it a day – at least as far as being around K was concerned. Chloe got the feeling that those two were going to continue their wrestling around elsewhere and she just didn't like the mental imagery. They found their way upstairs where they overheard Mr. Summers and Mr. Forge discussing how tomorrow's security test was going to go.

"Just finishing up the final touches. I should be done by ten tomorrow morning. When is Stark supposed to be here?" Mr. Forge asked as he crossed his arms, leaning against the counter in the kitchen.

"No telling. I told him to show whenever he was ready. If your stuff isn't totally finished, he can go down to the danger room – we're going to try to re-evaluate K first thing in the morning." Mr. Summers said. Forge shook his head.

"That poor girl has some rotten luck. Weapons Plus program, Sabretooth, and dating Logan. Does she even know what she's gotten herself into?" Forge asked as Scott shrugged slowly.

"You never know. This may end up being a good thing. He's got some hope, and it's been a long time since that happened." Scott replied. Zoe had heard enough and her sister was simply fixated on the fact that Tony Stark would be around tomorrow. Maybe if she got up early enough she'd get a glimpse of him.


	4. First Impressions mean Judgement

Chloe was up at the crack of dawn, she'd obsessed all night about what she could wear to catch the attention of Mr. Stark. She had a crush in the worst way. When her alarm went off at six, she jumped out of bed and pulled out the right super cute outfit that showed off everything without being too obvious about it. As soon as she was dressed she got right down to hair and makeup, getting done finally at 7:30 and rushing downstairs with a book in hand so she could have an excuse to be sitting around the living room. The front door opened quietly half an hour later, the man in question letting himself in, stopping at the door to the living room when he saw her sitting there.

"Is Summers around here?" he asked, looking around the room for him.

"No, he went through a little while ago – lower levels." she said quickly, blushing. He thanked her with a kind smile and rushed off in search of Scott. She felt like an idiot. She was crushing on a stranger – an older _rich_ stranger. She decided to try to make the most of it, heading instead to the kitchen to steal a cup of coffee. Logan and K had just come down and K was rushing as she poured herself a cup, Logan flirting and touching her the whole time, making a short commentary on what he thought of the skin tight uniform she wore. Why the hell did they have to do that here? In front of her? K waved to her, a friendly hello as the pair of them headed to the lower levels. She simply couldn't understand why K was attracted to him. Sure, if he would not act like a brute, and just never open his mouth, sure, but come on. The other girls came down not long after K and Logan left.

"Since when do you drink coffee?" Hisako asked Chloe as she played with her mug.

"I drink it a lot, I just prefer Starbucks." she said quietly, thinking back to the day she got them caught. She hadn't set foot in a Starbucks since coming here, and she was slightly afraid to now. If she'd been more careful, they wouldn't be here at all. Oh God. They could still be scrubbing through the underbrush with the bugs and dirt and cold hard ground.

"Anyone want to go? To Starbucks, I mean. They should still have Pumpkin Spice, right?" Chloe said suddenly as she looked up from her mug. Zoe stared at her.

"I thought you were through with Starbucks after..." Zoe started to say.

"No. I've just realized that latte saved us from living like animals all winter." Chloe said. Zoe shook her head at her sister. She was freakin' crazy. They were about to leave, having talked Kitty into driving them when Stark and Scott stepped out of the elevator talking animatedly.

"Be back in an hour or so, Scott!" Kitty called out.

"No you're not. No one leaves right now." Stark told her, his face stony. "We're getting ready to test. No idea how long it will take. You have to stay until it's over." The girls were shocked as Kitty simply shrugged.

"If you say so, Tony. Let me know if you need any help." Kitty told him, walking past him to hang the keys back up when he turned to the girls.

"You girls just get comfortable. Whatever it was you were headed out to do can wait. Sorry." He told them. "But you can watch the demo. Just outside the windows. Can't let you pretty girls get snatched up by some weirdo creeps." he said with a grin, his misguided attempt to ease their minds simply had Chloe on cloud nine. He did say pretty right? Mr. Stark and Mr. Summers were at the kitchen table, Stark's projection screens showing dozens of open screens full of what looked to the girls like nonsense. Forge was making adjustments with Stark and a tall blonde guy was clearly trying to simply keep up. They had no clue who he was until he spoke, then Chloe recognized his voice from interview on television. She turned to her sister wide eyed and mouthed out _Captain America?_ as Zoe nodded her head with a grin. Jubilee rolled her eyes at them.

"It's like you've never seen a superhero before. Please." she grumbled. They'd largely been ignoring the conversation until they heard Stark say something about a test dummy.

"I got it." Logan's gravely voice cut through the low rumble of students coming in and finding something to amuse themselves with. The girls perked up, suddenly interested in the testing systems.

"We're using live rounds, Logan. You sure you want to do that?" Mr. Forge sounded amused as he watched the little man. Logan looked grim when he answered.

"Make sure the kids are all in and away from the windows. How soon can it be ready?" he asked.

"Give us an hour." Mr. Summers replied, the girls were surprised that he'd go along with letting his team mate get shot up on purpose. They saw Logan nod and mumble something to them as he turned and walked off, pulling his cowl over his head as he left. The men in the kitchen now started working more studiously as Wolverine got into place, double and triple checking that everything was operational.

"Alright, I'll handle the air invasion then – seeing as my armor is bulletproof." Stark said to Mr. Summers and Forge nodding their head in agreement.

"Wolverine, you have five minutes until we go live." Mr. Summers said into his com.

"Waitin' on you." was the reply that came through the com. Just then K stepped into the kitchen, barefoot, with damp hair – clearly freshly cleaned up from her test. The girls couldn't believe it when Stark's tone changed at her appearance.  
"Hey, you wanna see the show, we're gonna test the system." he grinned at her – Jubilee was offended at the honeyed tone in his voice as he put on the charm for Wolvie's girlfriend.

"Who's 'we'?" K asked, leaning on the counter – was she flirting with him?

"Oh, he didn't tell you? Your cranky boyfriend and I are going to put it through it's paces." Stark replied, Cap rolling his eyes at his team mate's display. Mr. Summers seemed to be ignoring the situation. "Wanna give me a little kiss for good luck?" The girls as a collective were stunned. He was flirting with her.

"I can see him testing it, but what are you doing. Really." K asked him, ignoring his forward request. For a split second he looked shocked, then mildly insulted.

"You don't know my superpower then." he said quietly as K looked at him as if he was ready to sprout a second head, shaking hers as she uncapped her water bottle.

"Is it being a self absorbed pain in the ass, because, honestly you seem to have the corner market." she said taking a sip from the bottle. His mouth dropped open and Jubilee grinned.

"I get it. That's fine. Just remember if I get blown up, I'm going to die knowing that the last pretty girl I talked to didn't even know who I am. You gotta admit, that's kinda harsh." he said, as K looked entirely unrepentant.

"Tony leave her alone. She's not interested." Cap told him, his arms crossed over his chest as he shook his head at him. Tony looked down his nose at him, as if he'd just interrupted a major business deal.

"Mind your own business, Rogers." Stark said to him shortly before turning the honey back on. "K – Come on, one little one." he smiled at her, looking as adorable as he could manage. "Right here, please?" he said, leaning forward and pointing to his cheek. Jubilee was back to thoroughly disgusted more so when K's shoulders dropped and she actually leaned forward and gave him the tiniest of pecks on the cheek, an almost lewd grin appearing on Starks' face as she leaned back.

"Now you can die. Congratulations." K said dryly as Tony stepped out of the door, still smiling hugely as he spread his arms in a Christ-like pose, popping his eyebrow at her as the first few pieces of his armor flew to him, attaching themselves to their proper placement. Chloe couldn't believe it when K put her head in her hands, shaking her head. Did she really not know who he was? Stark was looking K straight in the eyes as he started addressing Logan.

"Logan, thought I should be the one to tell you. You owe me twenty bucks. I got her to kiss me." K looked astounded. "She did tell me to go die, but doesn't matter pay up." he announced. His faceplate attached itself and he took off, K leaning her head back as far as it would go when Logan's growl came through Mr. Summer's com.

"Scooter, do me a favor and blast Stark outta the air." he growled out, Mr. Summers and Forge laughing to themselves as the banter between the two Avengers erupted over the com to the entertainment of anyone close enough to hear it. Cap was watching K, his posture relaxing minutely.

"Shouldn't have done that." Mr. Rogers said, watching K closely. She clearly looked disappointed.

"I know. I was hoping he'd shut up." K replied, Rogers laughing at her as he shook his head.

"Like that would ever happen." Jubilee grumbled, looking now to the windows to see if they could watch any of the demo. The professor nodded to Mr. Summers and within seconds the mansion was rattled with small explosions overhead. The student body was nervous as Ms. Munroe and Mrs. Summers explained they were perfectly safe, and that this was simply a test.

"No other school in the country has live explosions and air raids in their tests." Chloe muttered. "Tornadoes and fire sure, but air strikes? Jeez." Jubilee laughed at her.

"Not entirely true. There are a few other mutant schools, and Avengers Academy. I'm sure they all have some version of this." Jubilee said with a grin. Zoe jumped as she saw Stark zip past, almost too fast to track. Mr. Rogers leaned forwards watching the monitors Stark had set up.

"Is Wolverine even in the perimeter?" he asked, Logan's growl answered him quietly.

"Oh yeah, I'm here. I'll be up to the house in a few minutes." he chuckled.

"Wolvies on his ultra super sneaky down and dirty mode." Jubilee said with a hint of pride. The girls were nervous – didn't they just upgrade the security and Wolverine was _still_ sneaking past it? They heard him swear a few minutes later and Jubilee rushed to the kitchen looking out the window, shocked herself at how close he'd gotten without being detected.

"Got him. Good." Mr. Summers said with a grin just as he popped his claws and started fighting in earnest. The sound of the turret gun going off deafening and terrifying as Jubilee and the girls watched round after round hit him before Scott terminated the program.

K opened the kitchen door, walking out as Stark landed next to Wolverine, who was stretching out as the bullets expelled themselves from his body. Jubilee and the girls followed her, Jubes ready to watch as Wolvie ripped into her about the kiss.

"Really? You kissed him?" Logan growled out as Jubilee waited expectantly, Logan pulling off the burnt and bloodied cowl. She didn't expect K's reaction.

"Well, yeah. I mean – a peck on the cheek, I really only did it so he could _die_ and he didn't even do THAT right." K said as Logan slid his hands onto her hips. "I feel cheated, really." Jubilee's mouth dropped as he smirked at her, leaning in closer.

"You didn't kiss me. Seems like I'm the one that's been cheated." he growled, one eyebrow raised at her.

"At the time, I was only giving away 'please go die' kisses, so really, you should be happy I _didn't_ kiss you." K replied, pulling together an air of dignity about her as he finally smirked.

"What about now?" he asked to Chloe's disgust as he started to close the gap, Stark and Summers running diagnostics on the program in the back ground, though he was attentive to the couple nearby. Zoe nearly laughed out loud when K stiffened up in his arms and tried to pull away from him.

"Well, now I have plans – I just met this tall hunky blonde – maybe I can pencil you in later?" she said, earning herself a forceful kiss as he pulled her tight, one hand behind her head to keep her from escaping him. The sisters were shocked. No way was she going to put up with that. More shocking was the grin on her face when he finally let her breathe.

"Got it! Alright. Keep away from her – though, if you two are going to continue, you really need to get a room." Stark said, irritation in his voice as he continued. "Some of us can't be spanking pretty girls all day." he grumbled. Jubilee paled at K's response.

"You're absolutely right, Tony." she said as she managed to straighten herself up from Logan's grip. "We shouldn't do this out here." The two ferals locked eyes and nodded in unison. "Come on, Logan. You can spank me upstairs." K said with a smirk as Logan grinned, following her his hands on her hips as they nearly ran toward the stairs, Stark bitching as they left.

"There's no justice in the world. The order of things is all wrong." Stark grumbled. "Seriously. How is it that _he_ gets the hot little brunette and she's telling _me_ to go die?" he was bitching under his breath as Mr. Summers put his hand on his shoulder.

"Don't feel bad, you just never had a chance, man. He got to her right away." Scott explained. "The whole feral magnetism apparently works both ways too. He hasn't flirted at _all _with Jean since K's shown up. I'd bet he'd leave Pepper alone too." Stark looked truly shocked and he turned to the girls.

"Is that true or is ol' fearless here pullin' my leg?" he stared at Jubilee "You're his little sidekick, right? He been hittin' on redheads lately?" Stark asked. Jubilee didn't want to cooperate with him for anything, crossing her arms.

"I wouldn't know. I'm too young to go to the bar with him." she said, her nose up.

"Has he even _gone _to the bar?" Stark countered, his arms crossed now. Jubilee faltered. "That's what I thought. OK. She's unavailable for now. I can wait." Stark said as the men went back inside as the girls stared between themselves.

"So, she has a choice between a handsome, famous billionaire …. and Mr. Logan." Chloe said, rolling her eyes. "What the hell is wrong with her?"


	5. Grown Up Drama

The girls had long given up trying to figure out K's attraction to Logan. They didn't understand it. They weren't going to understand it. Until it just happened. They were finishing up a workout in the gym and were headed toward the elevator when they realized Logan was headed the same way. He'd just left the danger room with Mr. LeBeau and Logan was nearly naked and sweaty with smears of blood littered across his body. The two of them stepped into the elevator with them, both of them suddenly finding themselves sneaking looks at Logan, who mercifully ignored them entirely as they occasionally ogled him. They were stunned at how much his uniform actually hid of his heavily muscled body. He looked much better half naked than he did clothed. Chloe suddenly felt a tinge of guilt for wondering what he looked like without the bottom half of his uniform on. Of course Jubilee would be the tactful one to mention his lack of clothes.

"Why do you even __have__ a uniform anyhow, Wolvie? They never last you more than a couple wears. You trash everything. The budget just for your clothes has got to be freakin' crazy. We should just like – let you go in naked. The sight of your hairy ass might just scare the bad guys off." she spit out, teasing. He shook his head and sighed as he leaned against the wall.

"Real cute. Thanks for that, Jubes." he grumbled.

"He do dat, there be no team in de world wanna work wit him." Mr. LeBeau said, smirking. Logan just gave him a dirty look. He had other things on his mind right now than slapping Remy around.

When the elevator reached the main floor, the men let the girls out first, the three of them rushing off, though Jubilee didn't know why, waving as they left.

"Why did you have to mention him being naked?" Chloe said, her cheeks red as they closed their bedroom door behind them.

"Whats the big deal? I thought everyone's seen Wolvie naked. I can't count the number of times a mission's been over &amp; he's strutted off the jet in his birthday suit." she answered, totally oblivious.

"Doesn't he even try to cover himself?" Chloe asked, taken back. No one did that.

"No. Why would he? Like I said, we've all seen it." Jubilee answered. There was a beat of silence. "Wait. You think he's hot. I thought you didn't like him." Chloe blushed bright red. A dead giveaway.

"I didn't realize he was so …." Chloe stumbled shyly, grasping for the right word.

"Hot." Jubilee supplied.

"Muscled." she amended. "Muscled. I didn't know he was that cut." Jubilee laughed at her.

"No one on this team – or any other team he's on is that cut. That's just him. The only one that comes close is Cap, and he's had a super soldier upgrade." she said, smirking.

They spent the rest of the afternoon discussing the hard bodies on the team and comparing them to the ones they knew of elsewhere. It was a pleasant way for the overly hormonal teen girls to spend the day, comparing fantasy men until Kitty had to break it up for dinner. It was just the interruption they needed to remember they had tests to study for.

…...

Zoe was in the living room, racking her brain as she tried hard to study for the upcoming math test in Mr. Drake's class. He was fun, but he was tough on tests. That would have been hard enough to do as it was, but the library was full of other students that were getting noisy. She'd found a haven here but now there was a gathering of students at the window, talking loudly – about a horse? What? It was so odd a subject that she had to go look, forcing her way to the window so she could see. Far out on the jumping course was a tiny woman, hair flying jumping Mrs. Summer's horse through the course bareback. She squinted her eyes, realizing when she turned the horse around for another jump that it was K.

"I didn't know she rode." Zoe whispered.

"No one really knows anything about her except that she's sleeping with Wolverine." one of the older male students said.

"Yeah, well, you know what they say..." another older boy said with a smirk. "It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it." both of them erupted into laughter. Zoe was too irritated to correct them, deciding instead to talk to K when she came in. Maybe she could ride with her. She went back to her studying, irritated at the boys who were still leering as K finished her ride. If it was so disgusting, why were they watching her so closely? Ugh. Why were boys so nasty? She had a mind to blast them on their asses. It wasn't long and she couldn't concentrate on her studies. The desire to injure those two was a little too strong for her to ignore while they were still there, making lewd remarks about her friend. Not long afterward, she saw K go by looking a little stressed out. She followed her and talked to her while she changed in her room.

"Well, I don't know the next time I'm going to ride, but if you're free when it happens, sure, we can ride together." K said, straightening out the red sweater she just had pulled over her head, smoothing out the front of it over the top of her jeans. "If you don't mind though, Zo, I have a lot on my mind. I think I need a little alone time." she said, giving the girl a quick hug. "You wanna go into town tomorrow though? I could use a break from this place." Zoe agreed and after setting up a time, they parted company. The next afternoon, the two of them headed out. Zoe needed to do a little light shopping, and K wanted some fresh air. They found themselves in an open air mall in the tiny town nearest the Institute. They kicked it off by grabbing a bite together, where the waitress mistook K as Zoe's mother. Zoe was shocked when K didn't correct her.

"K you're not old enough to be my mom. You should have set her straight." Zoe said after the waitress left. K turned her attention back to the girl in front of her.

"Sure I am. Besides, it doesn't bother me. You and Chloe are good kids. Jean tells me you're both doing really well in your classes. No problems with discipline. Also – no boys?" K asked.

"No, most of the boys are slime balls. Ugh. If you could have heard the commentary yesterday when you were riding, you'd probably want to stab them." Zoe spit out. K wrinkled her brow.

"Was it about the riding, or Logan?" K asked, cutting right to it.

"More about you riding Logan." Zoe said disgusted at the prospect. K looked to the ceiling, her lips parted as she searched the heavens for what she wanted to say.

"Ah. Well there's that." K said as she tipped her chin down, tapping her fingers on the table, unwilling to sugar coat it or lie.

"Why him?" Zoe said suddenly. "Out of all the single good looking guys around, why him?" K looked surprised, thinking over the question before answering.

"Well, I don't know. He drew me in." K said quietly, wondering herself why she didn't go a little slower with him. "He's a good man, and it turns out we have a lot in common too." Zoe's mouth pulled at the corner as she thought about K's answer.

"Does he love you?" Zoe asked. K sighed.

"He says he does. No telling for sure with a man." K replied.

"Jubilee says he's old. Like really really old." Zoe said. K smirked a little.

"Well, I'm pretty old myself, Zo. I may not look it, but I've been around a long long time." K said, her eyes sad. Zoe had never seen her like that.

"What, are you like … fifty?" Zoe asked. K raised an eyebrow and thumbed upward. "Sixty." thumb up. "eighty?" thumb up. "No way. No way you can be over eighty. You look like … not even thirty."

"Well, I am. And thanks. It's good to know I at least __look__ young." K said as the waitress returned with their orders. The two of them spent the afternoon shopping and poking around, returning hours later with their loot. Zoe had picked up a few new books she'd been dying to read and K returned with some leather, a long rope and a few tools, planning to make something she could use with the horses. When they returned, Logan was in the garage again, standing to greet them as they came in.

"You girls have fun?" he asked, a friendly smirk on his face. Zoe was awestruck. She'd never really seen him so approachable. K just slid up to him and kissed him. Zoe nodded, thanked K and scurried off. Chloe was furious when she ran into her.

"You spent all afternoon with K __alone?__ You witch! Why didn't you invite me?" Chloe raged. Zoe suddenly felt guilty.

"You were spending the day with Angelo. I didn't have anything to do, and I needed to talk to her." Zoe defended. "Why don't you just ask to go do something with her?" Chloe faltered. She hadn't thought it would be that easy. "Just don't do it now. She's with Mr. Logan again." Chloe groaned loudly, flopping herself on her bed. "I did get a book for you though …. I know you're missing your __Twilight__ copies." Zoe offered, holding the book to her. Chloe gave her a dirty look but took the book. "And, I managed to get a couple bottles of dye … you want to help me add a little color?" Zoe asked with a hugely artificial grin.

"You're just lucky you remembered to pick this up for me. I suppose I can still speak with you." Chloe replied. "And yes. I can help you freak your hair out. What color are you going for this time?"

"Green." The two girls stared at each other straight faced until all at once their serious glares cracked and they both erupted into giggles, heading off to the bathroom together.

…...

Chloe and Zoe went looking for K the next morning, Jubilee telling them that she was in the danger room with Logan – he was taking the time to train her personally.

"Oh right. 'train' her. Sure. Probably just screwing in there." Chloe mumbled.

"Alright now, that's it. You don't have to be disrespectful." Jubilee snapped. "You don't like it? Learn to live with it. I have. But I can tell you if he say's they're training – they're training." she was glaring at her, hands on her hips. Chloe was just about to open her mouth to say something smart assed when the elevator doors opened and out stepped Logan carrying K. She was bloodied, and clearly passed out as he held her tightly.

"Jubes, you wanna get my door for me?" he said quietly as he passed them, carrying her as if she weighed nothing. Jubilee just nodded and dashed ahead of him, opening the door and stepping back as he approached. "Thanks, Jubes." he said quietly as he slipped in the room, kicking it closed behind him.

"What the hell was that?" Chloe said after they'd retreated to a safe distance.

"Looks like K had some trouble with her simulation." Jubilee said grimly. "She's been on it all day." Chloe looked around the corner as Jean ran up, with a tray in her hand. They girls couldn't help themselves. They had to sneak down to try to hear more. They couldn't hear much as Jean and Logan talked in the hallway before he slipped back in and she came right for them.

"Girls – if you want to know what's happening with your friend, it would be wiser to ask than to try sneaking around telepaths." Jean told them just before they got to their door. They froze, turning to face her, finding her with her arms crossed over her chest her hip cocked.

"Why was she unconscious and bloody?" Chloe spit out. Jean took a deep breath before informing them of the basics.

"She was injured rather severely for someone with her abilities and Logan has it under control. He will be caring for her if she needs anything. Yes, is in an extremely tough program and yes, Logan is in charge of it. No, it's not optional for her, though I will point out she requested it. No, no one else has to do it. Yes, it is crucial that he's this hard on her and he feels terrible about pushing her so hard. Is there anything else you need to know?" Jean spit out before any of them actually said a word. The sisters looked at each other a moment before shaking their heads. "Good, then I would suggest that if you have any more questions you direct them to K." With that she turned around and headed back downstairs. They decided not to push their luck. Chloe would try to talk to her the next day if she was up and about. …...

She waited for her at breakfast. No K. The sun was rising higher in the sky and still, no sign of her. Chloe had nearly given up when Kitty came into the kitchen.

"He said they're not using the danger room today, Hank. I can hazard a guess as to what they're up to but there is no way I'm sticking my head in his room right now." Kitty said, leaning on the counter and looking at Dr. McCoy seriously.

"Katherine, I am the very last person that can get away with interrupting things between those two. If I go up there, it's likely he'll take it personally. You can't send another feral anywhere near them when they're in flagrante delicto." Dr. McCoy replied. "You'll simply have to break it up. She needs a passive evaluation after the hit she took yesterday. Even with her regenerative abilities, that was bad, to put it simply." Kitty hung her head.

"Fine. But don't pretend that the only reason you're asking me is because I can go intangible." she replied before heading back up the stairs. The girls had nearly given up their vigil until they heard that.

It was another half hour before Kitty came back down.

"She'll be down in a minute. I even got her clothes for her." she told Dr. McCoy before walking off. "I won't do that again, Hank. If you want to interrupt them, you're going to have to do it yourself." The doctor looked irritated as he leaned back over his crossword puzzle. Clearly wishing he was back in his lab rather than waiting for his unwilling patient.

"First time ever in history a doctor has had to wait for the patient to show." Chloe mumbled as Zoe giggled.

"I heard that, girls. Not funny." Dr. McCoy growled out. OK, so picking on him wasn't a great idea. He looked livid until suddenly K appeared and silently made her way to him, pulling the chair out and sitting in it perfectly straight backed, her hands on her knees and her eyes twinkling.

"Sorry you had to wait, but I will endeavor to cooperate, albeit reluctantly, to the best of my abilities." She said with a smirk. Dr. McCoy cracked a smile and began his assessment, ending a short time later by giving her a clean bill of health and strict orders to see him should she have any further issues. The girls were about to approach K to chat when very suddenly Kitty and Jubilee appeared sitting across and next to K with Ms. Braddock in tow – it almost looked as if they were boxing her in. They started to head over until they heard Ms. Pryde ask K what her intentions were with Wolverine. The sheer shock on her face said it all and the girls knew that now was no where near the time to talk. They rerouted themselves so they could hear the conversation without being seen, though neither was surprised when she went from floundering for an answer to sounding hard as steel as she left them to their own devices, nearly silent as she slipped away from them.

"Not sure that could have gone much worse, ladies." Kitty said shortly after the elevator closed behind K. "Logan's going to have our hides when he hears about this."

"If, Kitty. If he hears about it." Jubilee said.

The trio broke up their conversation as Chloe made her presence known, only Jubilee remaining behind as the two women left.

"Hi guys." Jubilee said sheepishly. She hadn't realized the sisters were within earshot as she and the two teachers grilled their friend.

"Why are you giving her such a hard time?" Zoe asked, arms crossed. "I thought you liked her." Jubilee squirmed in her chair.

"Well, I do like her, but I didn't __want__ to like her until I knew how she felt about him. I don't want to see him hurt." Jubes said quietly. Chloe shook her head in disgust. K would never hurt him on purpose. __Him__ on the other hand -

"What about him hurting her? Did you think about that angle?" Zoe spit out. Jubilee shaking her head seriously at them.

"Not gonna happen. He doesn't do serial relationships. When he gets serious, it's usually for keeps." Jubes replied, the sisters now worried about what that meant to them. Would they be able to see her &amp; spend time with her, or would it always be the two of them? They really still didn't like him that much. Chloe cut in quickly.

"Change the subject. Wrong place to be talking about this." she said. The last thing they needed was for one of them to walk in right about now.


	6. Embarrassing Adults

They didn't see much of them over the next day or so. In fact, the next time Chloe saw either of them was a few days later when she was awakened by the sound of the blackbird coming in. The team must have had a mission. She laid in bed, listening as her sister slept on, dying to know what had happened. Curiosity finally got the better of her and she slipped downstairs on the premise of getting a drink. When Mr. Summers came out of the elevator, she stared openly until he saw her. He had a cut across his cheekbone and his uniform was slashed, blood shining on the fabric as he walked up to her.

"Are you alright, Chloe? Do you need anything?" he asked her as she stared at him open mouthed. He was bleeding – from a slash again and he was concerned about her.

"No, I'm fine – just needed a drink. I'll go right back to bed, I swear, Mr. Summers." Chloe replied, slipping off the stool at the counter, knowing her cover was officially blown. He nodded and wished her a good night as she slipped up the stairs. She sat just inside her door listening for anyone coming up. She wanted to know who had gone out. She was surprised when she saw that most of them had, some of them heading back to their rooms in small groups. Wow. This had to be big. That usually meant that Mr. Logan would be out too. Maybe she could catch K. She'd given up waiting finally, deciding to hit the bathroom after her two glasses of water, startled when she heard heavy footsteps by the stairs. Looking up she gasped out loud. Mr. Logan was covered in blood – much of it not dry yet. He had his arm around K who looked similarly bloodied. She gasped out loud, and to her horror, he locked eyes with her as she stared at them. He didn't say a word or make any other motion that he'd heard her as the two of them continued down the hall, the smell of blood following them in their wake. She rushed back into her room, her heart pounding. _I know he's supposed to be a good guy, but why do I feel like I'm in a horror movie when I'm around him?_ Chloe couldn't sleep anymore that night. She told Zoe about them the next morning. Jubilee listened in as she crunched on her cereal.

"You're so lucky you didn't see them. Oh my god. Seriously. He looked like an ax murderer." Chloe said in hushed tones. Jubilee rolled her eyes. These girls had no freakin' clue. They'd finally dropped the subject by the time K and Logan came through, K looking quite peaceful as she waved hello to the girls, Logan nodded to them as they passed through.

"Where are they going? Awful late getting up, aren't they?" Zoe said wagging her eyebrows at her sister. Chloe shook her head.

"You know, just about the time I get to thinking he's really hot, he goes and shows up covered in someone's blood." Chloe said. That got Jubilee's attention.

"Now, that's not fair. He's usually covered in his own blood more often than not." She snapped in defense of him. Chloe had to consider it, realizing that Jubilee was probably right – knowing that she'd seen K in similar straits on several occasions. She started to warm up to him after that. It took time – lots of time, and paying careful attention to the fact that although he was gruff, he was fair, and if she approached his class with the right attitude – namely, do what he says when he says it, don't make him repeat himself, and push yourself beyond your breaking point – he was a damned good teacher.

Chloe and Zoe finally got brave, approaching the pair of them while they had coffee one morning, Chloe clearing her throat to catch their attention even as Logan had his nose in K's hair. The pair of them stopped their flirting to look up at the sisters, K clearly open minded about everything and Logan irritated that they'd interrupted his attempt at sweet talking her into a day off alone in the woods.

"So, I know you guys are like – super busy training and everything, but is there any way we can see you a little, K? Spend some time with you?" Chloe spit out.

"We just got done with our midterms, and honestly, we've missed you. A lot." Zoe said honestly. The girls were starting to grow up a little bit. Logan sat back in his chair, watching the sisters as he ran his hand down K's back, resting at the small of her back. K turned to look at Logan before grinning at him a moment.

"Yeah. That sounds nice. We can go whenever you're ready. Logan was just saying I needed a day off." K grinned at him. His face fell.

"Now wait a damned minute, that's not -"

"When you're right, you're right, babe. Will you be free tonight or do I need to get another date for a walk after dark?" K said, cutting him off. He narrowed his eyes at her and started to growl, the sound chilling the sisters to the bone as K smiled wider. He grabbed her by the back of the neck and kissed her roughly, K's hands slipping onto his neck as he attacked her mouth.

"Be back by six, or I'll come after ya." he growled out "and you know damn well I wasn't pushin' for you to go on a flamin' shopping trip, woman." he sounded menacing to the girls, who were all the more perplexed at K's delighted grin. She leaned up to him, whispering something in his ear, stroking his hair. His hand wrapped around her wrist and his eyebrow went up as she continued to whisper to him. The growl ceased and he turned his head to her. She had a wide eyed almost innocent look on her face as he considered her words.

"You know you play awfully damned dirty, right?" he said quietly. She just stared back at him until he let out a breath. "Alright. I'll be waiting – patiently as I know how." he purred out and she kissed him again – this time it looked much more relaxed, romantic even when the kiss ended. His smile made him look much more handsome, more so when he finally broke his focus from K to the sisters, the grin slowly slipping off as he told them to be careful.

"You guys be good. I want a com link on every one of ya. Take my jeep." he said turning back to K, kissing her behind the ear after one final passionate kiss and letting out a sigh. "Any sign of trouble, you call for help, got it?" K nodded and looked to the girls, who followed suit. They were almost out the door when Jubilee caught them climbing into Logan's jeep.

"Hey! Where are you three headed? Anywhere fun?" Jubilee asked.

"Going to spend a little time shopping. Logan is free if you don't want to go with." Zoe offered. Jubilee smiled.

"I think I'll try to catch him, if it's alright with you guys. Have fun!" she said, running back into the house looking for him.

…...

The girls were tickled to spend time with K, even if Logan's plans for her had nothing at all to do with shopping or people or well, anything but the two of them alone naked in the woods. K was smiling to herself a little as she played with her iced coffee with the sisters.

"Oh wow. You really like him, don't you." Zoe spit out as tactfully as she was able. K just smiled and nodded. She had a very open policy with the sisters. She wouldn't lie to them as long as they gave her the same courtesy, though only K could tell if they were lying.

"He's must like you a lot too. He never smiles unless he's with you." Chloe said, finally deciding to get behind the two ferals romance. K rolled her eyes.

"That can't be true." she said, one eyebrow raised.

"It is. I asked Jubilee. It's like super rare for him to do anything but frown and snarl and glare. Unless you're nearby." Zoe replied.

"So what did you tell him to get him to simmer down anyhow? Did you promise some kinky twisted stuff or what?" Chloe asked suddenly, K staring at her wide eyed at her out of character invasive question. That was much more Zoe's speed.

"That is not something I'm telling you girls."

"So that's a yes. Just curious as to what his kink is. Seems like he'd be a pretty intense guy." Chloe said offhandedly. Even Zoe was surprised by her sister's frank and terribly interesting question. K stared at them a moment. This was worse than when his girls questioned her on Logan a couple months back.

"Ooh. I got it. Let's get you something sexy to wear!" Chloe said, her face lighting up. Zoe in total agreement. "Something lacy."

"No, no. Something like a dominatrix. I'll bet that's what he'd like." Zoe said the pair looking devious.

"No way. No. Even if I would wear something …like that," K said, looking flustered. "I would not let you two – who have been like my baby sisters – pick out my next outfit to be shredded."

"So … he likes to cut your clothes off. No surprise there." Zoe said. K's look went dead.

"Really. That's all you take from that? You my dear are a pervert. Come on, this shopping trip is coming to an end." K said, shaking her head. "Lets go girls."

"No! Not yet …. I have to get a new book – I finished the books you guys got me last time. Please? Just give me a few more minutes in the book store?" Chloe begged. K nodded.

"I'll be right here. I've had it with the shopping already." K replied as the sisters both jumped up, leaving their bags with her as they rushed off toward the book store. K returned to her coffee, watching people as she waited for the girls' return. Zoe kept looking over her shoulder the closer they got to the bookstore.

"What the hell are you doing, Zoe?" Chloe said quietly as her sister pulled her into the shop.

"Go pick up the next two books – I'm going to get something for K." Zoe replied. Chloe revolted.

"Are you really going to look for lingerie for her?" Chloe whispered. "Because I was only halfway serious. She'd kill us!"

"Yes. He's mad at us now for spoiling his day. I just know it. BUT, how mad is he going to be if she keeps him busy all weekend? Monday's combat class won't be a torture test if he's happy." Zoe replied, rushing down to the little boutique two doors down from the bookstore. Chloe followed her and the two made a mad dash through the shop, finally settling on something that looked like it wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility for K to wear. It was a black lace over red satin garter belt set – they even went so far as to pick out a pair of heels and thigh highs to finish it off, Chloe giggling as she threw in a pair of handcuffs. They got out of the boutique quickly, rushing into the bookstore and picking up a few books, asking the cashier for a bigger bag than necessary so they could stash their surprise for K. They were giggling madly when they returned to her. K knew they were up to something.

"What took so long?" she asked, standing up, picking up several bags as the girls rushed to do the same.

"Cute cashier." Zoe said, grinning. K looked over her shoulder, spotting a very pretty girl behind the counter in the bookstore.

"Really? You like girls now, Zo?" K asked as Zoe blushed. Zoe had grasped to find a valid excuse so quickly that she didn't filter herself. It wasn't a lie and her sister was grinning. Chloe had known for years Zoe preferred girls, she just never had come outright and said it. Zoe was suddenly the one embarrassed.

"Did you at least get her number?" K asked, staring at her expectantly. Zoe's mouth dropped open as she shook her head no. K looked at the girls a moment in disbelief then strutted over to the bookstore. The girls didn't hear what she said, too terrified in that moment to move when K pointed them out to the pretty little blonde behind the counter, smiling as she waved at the sisters.

"No. What is she doing?" Zoe said, blushing as the little counter girl did the same. The blonde looked taken back, then waved at Zoe shyly, a huge grin in her face while turning to K and scribbling something on a piece of paper, handing it to K and waving at Zoe again before she shyly headed to the back of the store. K strutted back to the girls, smirking and ignoring the pack of teenage boys that wolf whistled her as she made her way past them.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?!" Zoe said, eyes wide as K handed her the slip of paper.

"Got her number for you. She thought you were really cute. Must be your lucky day. Her name's Samantha." K replied.

Zoe didn't feel guilty at ALL when she slipped the lingerie into K's bag full of bluejeans and t-shirts while she sat in the back of the jeep. She just wished she could see the look on K's face when she found the lingerie – or better yet, if Logan was the one to find it. She grinned. She'd make sure that he got that bag to take up if he was around to help her when they got back.

…...

Zoe was careful to grab the bag holding her surprise for K along with all of hers when she climbed out of the back seat, offering to take some of K's things for her as she picked up the girls' mess from the car. She held her breath as she rushed into the house, leaving K and Chloe in the dust and nearly running into Logan and Jubilee. Her grin when she saw him was like the cat that ate the canary.

"You girls have fun?" Logan asked as K and Chloe followed Zoe, who was making a show out of sorting the bags, K taking hers, but missing the one Zoe wanted to hand to Logan. K was partway up the stairs, Logan a beat behind her when Zoe rushed to him, handing him the bag.

"Thanks for letting us use your jeep. Here, we missed one of hers." Zoe smiled. Logan furrowed his brow. This was the girl that avoided saying two words to him when he asked her a direct question. What was this about? She winked at him and nodded to the bag as he took it. The look he gave her told her she may have just crossed a line. She squeaked and ran back to her sister who was staring at her open mouthed as he slowly turned and made his way up, well behind K's wake.

Chloe watched him disappear from view before turning to Zoe.

"Are you out of your mind? He knows something's up!" Chloe hissed at her. Zoe nodded.

"That's the plan. Let him find it." she grinned wickedly.

…...

K was putting things away when Logan stepped in the door kicking it shut behind him.

"Did I miss one? Damn. More shit to put away." K grumbled. He looked at her, thinking about what the usually nervous girl had said as he sat the bag down on the bed.

"What's in here any how?" he asked, his curiosity growing.

"Just clothes – jeans. Shirts. Nothing too special." K said offhandedly. Logan nodded, deciding to just help her put her stuff away so he could get to stripping her down. He picked up a pair of jeans and saw the box under them, setting the blue jeans on the bed he opened the box, raising an eyebrow when he spotted the heels and handcuffs.

"Nothing special, eh?" he said quietly. K turned to look at him, confused as to his meaning. He moved a few things, spotting the black lace. He smiled when he realized what that little punk had done. Zoe's version of a peace offering to him, or was this a joke on K? "You gonna model for me?" he said to her. She looked at him as if he'd lost his mind.

"Do you want me to?" she asked slowly. He nodded.

"Just this one outfit." He said as he put it all in the box and removed it from the bag, handing it to her, smirking. She looked at the box – clearly she hadn't seen it before.

"Where did that come from? What is it?" she asked. His smile grew.

"Was in yer bag, babe. Go on, try it on for me." he looked lecherous as she took the box, slightly afraid of what the girls might have slipped in her bag. He nodded toward the bathroom. Clearly she wasn't getting out of this one very easy, so she decided to see exactly how bad it was. One last look over her shoulder as she closed the door behind her had her very nervous. He looked like he was ready to eat her alive. She set the box on the counter, and gasped when she saw it's contents. He'd seen it. OH shit. She shook her head. _Payback is coming, girls_ K thought as she slipped her shirt over her head. She changed quickly, flipping her hair over her head as she bent over, tousling it. _May as well go all out._ She thought as she slipped on the impossibly high heels before applying some red lipstick and opening the door to find him waiting for her, half undressed himself. He was speechless as she strutted towards him, being sure to put a little extra sway into her step as she bit her lip watching him approach her.

"Where's the rest of it?" he asked, his voice gravelly. Her eyes widened.

"Rest of it?" she asked. What did she miss? She turned around and made her way back to the box, a little shiver of panic hitting her when he grinned as she came back out with the handcuffs dangling off one finger.

"There ya go, darlin'."

…...

Zoe kept her eyes open for Logan and K the next day, hanging around the kitchen knowing they'd have to appear sooner or later. They didn't poke their heads out until late Sunday evening after dinner was over and most of everyone had cleared out. Logan grabbed her by her belt loops as she made to rush Zoe, pulling her close to him.

"Leave her alone, sweetheart. She was trying to be nice." Logan said, kissing K's neck. Zoe's face showed pure shock. Big, bad Wolverine had just defended her.

"She was trying to get you laid all weekend." K snarled as Logan chuckled.

"Mission accomplished. Come on, not done with you yet, woman." he said, directing her toward the doors to outside. "We had an appointment in the woods, honey. Why don't you start running – I'll find ya in a minute." K looked at him in disbelief. "Don't worry. Perimeter alarm is on. If you're nervous, just go half way to the woods. You can run when I come out." She shook her head, but followed his wishes. The door closed behind her as he turned to the girls.

"I don't know whose bright idea that was to do that to her, and although it was a cute little trick – do not pull that shit again. Last thing either of us needs is interference from a couple a teenagers." Logan growled out at the sisters, his glare resting on Zoe. "That was entirely inappropriate." Zoe was livid, and a bit emboldened by her success.

"Maybe, but did you enjoy it?" Zoe spit out, shocking Logan. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at her.

"Your mouth is gonna get you into trouble."

"Must have – no one's seen either of you since we came back." Zoe said, not meaning to push him so far as her big mouth got the better of her. He wasn't sure what to do with her.

"Don't push your luck, kid. Another word and the next month worth of class is gonna suck real bad for you." he halfway snarled. "Don't try to manipulate my life or hers. It's not right." He glared hard before turning around and stalking to the door, pausing before he went through it. "But, off the record – the look on her face was priceless. You did good kid." Zoe was afraid to push him, but couldn't help but grin to herself as Logan left, breaking into a run before he'd left the light of the patio outside the kitchen, K's laughing scream echoing back to the house.


	7. Crime

"Come on! Get your shoes on NOW! The team is going to do a group training exercise _outside of the danger room!"_ Jubilee said, bouncing on Chloe's bed. Zoe was already up and looking at her as if she was crazy. "We get to watch!" Jubes said, grinning. The sisters still didn't understand it, dressing as quickly as they could force themselves. "I think I hear Scott say they were going to play capture the flag – if we hurry, he may let us referee!" No way could refereeing anything that Mr. Summers was in charge of be fun. The grass still had frost on it when they got outside, their breath freezing as they made their way to where Jubilee said the game was to be played. Sure enough, the whole of the X-Men were suited up, ready to train – though from the sound of most of them, it would likely be more of a game than anything else with all the trash talking going on. Suddenly the sisters saw the excitement in it. It was rare that any of their teachers used any of their powers in class, and when it was, it was never any great display. They might actually get a taste of what it was like to be an x-man if things got rocking out there. Scott turned around when he heard the girls giggling, greeting them warmly.

"Oh good. Seems we'll have a small audience. You girls want to referee or do you just want to watch?" Mr. Summers asked, the sisters still in awe whenever they saw one of them in uniform, the whole team was absolutely intimidating.

"Watch. Just watch." Zoe said with Chloe nodding in agreement. Scott told them where to sit and turned his attention back to the team, directing them into two groups and preparing for the game. They groaned a little when Scott announced it would be a no-powers game.

"Don't worry, guys." Jubilee said, leaning against a tree. "They always break that rule." The sisters grinned. It seemed that even their teachers couldn't help but do what came most natural. The two teams split up, and on Scott's call both broke apart trying to find their way to the other side. Several people on Storm's team immediately engaged Wolverine in an attempt to keep him back, the girls seeing that even without the claws he was more than formidable as he tousled with Bishop and Kitty. They held their breath when they saw K make her mad dash, her body impossibly low to the ground as she stretched out. She'd gotten it, the girls silently cheering for her as she busted it heading back to their base, until she just disappeared in a cloud of brimstone, reappearing a second or so later near the opposing team's 'jail' retching and coughing as Nightcrawler tried to make peace. A loud_ crack_ echoed as they saw Nightcrawler fall backward, flat onto his back as K snatched the flag up again and ran. Kitty was just inside the jail after capturing Gambit. She took one look at K's quickly retreating form and shouted to her team to get her. Zoe was in awe of seeing Colossus in person, let alone hot on K's heels, though she was putting some distance between them until Iceman booby trapped the ground ahead of her. The whole of the team now watching rather than either assisting or continuing the assault on Cyclops' team. K was laughing with Colossus as she contorted in ways that could not possibly been easy with a metal skeleton, slipping away from him and dropping low as she made a final push, only to be taken entirely by surprise when Angel simply picked her up, his massive wings lifting them from the ground and startling her into dropping the flag. He air lifted her to the jail section where Chloe clearly heard Gambit proposition her in French just as a cheer lifted up from the other side of the field. Somehow, Scott's team had won, despite being down by three bodies by the end of the game.

"Nice work guys – even if you broke the one rule we had. You did well." Scott said with a grin, dusting dirt off himself from when Jean threw him across the field. Colossus and Logan were chatting as the game broke up, most of the teachers finding their own way back to the house alone, Gambit and Nightcrawler taking the time to talk to K, who was apologetic to Kurt for punching him.

"You followed the rules, Fraulein. I did not." he said with a grin through blood coated teeth before nodding to Kitty and bamfing away. The girls decided to head back to the house, it seemed that 'grown ups' were talking, as Jubilee put it.

"Wow. How often does the team practice together?" Zoe asked Jubilee as they crossed the lawn.

"Whenever they're all here, though honestly they all know each other well enough, they don't need to train together that much." Jubilee explained.

"When do we get to train with them?" Chloe asked quietly.

"When you can prove that you're in control of your powers." Mr. Summer's voice rang out behind them. The girls turned red. "It's good to know that you have an interest in joining the team. I'll keep that in mind the next time you're in the danger room." he said it with a smile, but it seemed somehow ominous as he passed them by, his wife holding his hand and smiling at them as they went by.

…...

School was getting intense again. The subject matter that Dr. McCoy was covering was so far past high school level that it was almost laughable if it weren't mandatory for his class. Their time to themselves was a premium now, and most of that was being used for extra study time. Jubilee seemed to just know all of this stuff.

"Hey, you eat enough Twinkies with the beastie and you pick stuff up." Jubilee shrugged. "Hey, hurry up and put that away, it's almost time for combat class. You know Wolvie will kick our butts if we aren't on time, and he's already mad that I hit him with that water balloon yesterday."

"Why did you do that, Jubes? Everything was starting to go so well before you thought it was a good idea to soak him." Chloe said as she stacked her books and papers.

"He was pawing at K in front of everyone. It was disgusting." She replied. "And she didn't even try to stop him. Ugh. Who needs to see that after breakfast – and you two? I can't believe you got away with that lingerie stunt. WHY are you encouraging them to get freaky anyhow?" When they got to combat class, Logan was agitated and Jubilee acted as if nothing had happened and jumped right in picking on him in a far too personal manner. He'd let her get away with her little nickname for him, but today she was out of line from the moment she stepped in the room. She was cocky, and rude to the students around her, making wise cracks at everything. It was like she'd been partially possessed by Bobby. Logan zeroed in on her, using her as his example, Jubilee jumping ahead of his instruction once in a cocky effort to try to knock him on his ass just because she wanted to pick a fight. It didn't work. He began to chastise her for the cheap shot, trying to correct her to do the move he was trying to demonstrate. She however thought she'd performed perfectly. Of course, seeing as she was wrong, he disagreed, pushing her for better. When he made her fight him a few minutes later, he got a good hold on her, much tighter than any other training session and she got mad when she couldn't break free – she really hadn't been listening to him, but instead of admitting she was wrong she fought back, blasting him with a huge plasmoid – the only problem was that she didn't mean to hit him in the face. He dropped her hand after a moment, turning his back to the class before anyone adjusted their eyes from the flash. No one knew what to do, only Jubilee knowing that she must have burned him pretty badly for him to turn his back.

"Wolvie..." she said quietly. His back was straight and his hand was toward her, palm open.

"Stay back. You don't need to see this." he said firmly. His words weren't clearly spoken. The class looked at each other horrified. How badly was he burned if he was trying to protect them from it? Guilt hit her like a mack truck as she saw the blood at his feet. She'd hurt him. He took a couple minutes to gather himself as he felt the muscle and skin pull back over the section of his face that was shining adamantium, only turning when he was sure the appearance was more or less healed. His retinas however, still had some healing to do from the bright flash. He dismissed everyone but her.

"I'm sorry Wolvie – I didn't mean to.. I just panicked, I, I'm.." She stuttered, the anger radiating from him palpable.

"You will meet me every morning at five to run. If you're not waitin' for me I'll come get you." He said, his voice low and steady.

"I'm sorry – I didn't mean to hurt you, really!"

"It's not about you burnin' me Jubes. It's about your mouth cuttin' checks yer ass can't cash. There's a reason you're still in school, Jubes. To learn, and even if you don't respect me outside of class you will while were in it. Got it?" He growled out, leveling her with his stare as she watched the skin on his face fade from the angry red it was to a more normal color as he finished healing from his burn. She was upset that he thought she didn't respect him. She was just angry with how the past month or so had gone, and that Scott hadn't let her do any team exercises with them. It wasn't that long ago that she was allowed to go on missions with them from time to time. She was feeling left behind, and somehow, she'd taken it out on him. She felt like human garbage. Her eyes fell to the floor, locking on the blood that had splashed on his jeans and boots. She nodded, then unexpectedly rushed forward to give him a quick hug.

"I'll be there. I'm sorry." she said tearfully. He sighed and returned her hug one armed.

"Go on. I'll see ya in the mornin." he said gruffly. He was mad, but he could see easily she must just be going through something. Chloe and Zoe were waiting for her at the end of the hall.

"What happened? Are you like, totally screwed?" Chloe asked.

"Are they going to kick you out?" Zoe asked, nervous for her friend.

"No, I just have to run with him from now until whenever he decides I've suffered enough." Jubilee said as the elevator door closed.

"Running? That's not bad." Zoe said, noticing the little smear of blood on her shirt.

"At five AM. With Wolvie. It's bad. Believe me." Jubilee said. "It's not just running a flat trail. It's running up and down hills and over logs and rocks and a stream …. it's not fun."

"Oh. Well. I was going to ask to run with you, but now? Never mind." Chloe said.

"No one volunteers to run with him." Jubilee said. "He barks at you like a drill instructor if you don't keep pace." The girls felt badly for her, cutting their study session short when she had to get to bed early.

The next morning was hellacious. She'd gotten up early, and met him in the kitchen where he was having coffee with K.

"Is she going with us?" Jubilee asked sleepily.

"No, she's going to the barn. She rides after her mornin' wake up." Logan said, smirking at K over his coffee. Jubilee looked at the look on his face and K's little matching smirk and put two and two together.

"Oh god." she said, shaking her head. "Why …. ugh. No. Please, don't explain any further." Jubilee said, as K stole his coffee.

"Sorry, Jubes. I'll pay for the therapy." K replied after she slung back half his coffee. Logan stole a kiss before they parted ways halfway to the trail, K heading to the barn while Jubilee and Logan nosed down the trail.

"Don't forget to stretch, kid." Logan said as he waited for her. _And so it begins_ she thought to herself. It was far too early for this kind of abuse. The rest of the day was a blur until she got her free hour after lunch to study with the girls.

The study session went well into the afternoon, the sun beginning to set only broken up when K and Mr. Summers rushed past – clearly on their way to run a mission, Logan hot on their heels.

"You're not takin' her alone, Scott." Logan protested as they made their way down the hall.

"It's just a pick up, Logan. Shouldn't take more than an hour or so. No real danger, I'll bring her back safe and sound." Mr. Summers replied. "She needs time on the clock without you trying to do it for her." Logan growled.

"I don't want her out there alone." he said his temper showing in his voice.

"And she won't be. I'll be with her. Betsy too. Relax." Scott said, not bothering to even look at Logan as he fumed. "Besides, you and Hank have to go to that meeting at Stark's. You can't go right now." Logan looked torn as he pulled K back to him.

"You better be careful, sweetheart. I don't want to have to go lookin' for ya." he said as she sighed. She kissed him in response before stepping into the elevator with Scott.

"You be careful too, mister." she said blowing him a kiss as the door shut. He turned back, meeting Hank at the front door as the girls watched him.

"Lets get this over with." he growled out, Hank smiling at him jovially as they stepped out the door together to see Stark and the rest of the Avengers.

"Wow. Over protective much?" Zoe said to herself as she packed up her books.

"I'm glad they're all gone. I'm too tired for all this studying, and Wolvie will kill me if I'm not on time tomorrow." Jubilee said, her eyes heavy after the incredibly long day she'd had.

"I'll go with tomorrow, Jubes. I want to see how bad it is." Chloe said as Zoe raised her eyebrow.

"Are you sure Mr. Logan won't get mad if you show up?" Zoe asked as Jubilee shook her head in response.

"No, he won't be mad unless he has to yell at you to keep up. 'you wanted to come along, now move yer ass, princess'" she growled out in a crappy impression of him. "You can come, just be ready to work or he'll be on you as hard as if he told you to come." Jubilee warned as she picked up her books. Chloe still wanted to try. It couldn't be that bad, right?


	8. Punishment

Jubilee wasn't even kidding. Like not even a little. 5 AM runs with Logan were worse than Mr. Summer's surprise danger room sessions – possibly more deadly too. Chloe was sure she was going to die at the halfway point – and then he started pushing them to go faster. They ran through the woods, as Jubilee had told her they would, hurdling over fallen trees – some of them with branches sticking up in the middle of the trail. When Jubilee complained, he made it worse, running ahead and cutting down another tree that she had to step back from before climbing over. Chloe was far enough back she had momentum enough to hurdle it – barely. When they got back and he left the two of them alone, Chloe was wide eyed as the pair panted, bent over grasping her knees.

"He's a fucking sadist!" Chloe spit out as she let herself fall to the ground. "Why do they let him get away with this?"

"Scott says it's good to have the fear put into us." Jubilee said as she laid back on the grass. "It usually works too – Wolvies punishments are the worst. And this is pretty tame by his standards." Chloe was suddenly very sympathetic, not sure she would join her again unless forced to. When they made their way into the house finally, K was drinking coffee.

"Morning girls. Wanna cup?" K asked as the two of them plopped down at the table with her.

"Please." Chloe said as K got up, purposefully to pour her a cup.

"Me too." Jubilee said, not really expecting K to bring her a cup too. "Aren't you going to punish us too?" Jubes asked her as she set a mug down in front of her.

"Nope. Not my business." K replied as she handed her the sugar. Jubes was impressed.

"Even if Logan's mad at me?" Jubilee asked as K sat back down. She shook her head no as she lifted her mug. "Huh." Jubes grunted out. She was sure K would jump on the bandwagon with him.

"Why don't you take a run with us tomorrow, K?" Chloe said. K considered her a minute.

"Do you think it would make him ease up?" K asked. Jubilee shrugged.

"No idea. If he gets worse, could you cut it short?" Jubes replied. K nodded.

"Sure. You want to use a safe word?" K asked. Chloe laughed.

"OK. I do not want to talk about safe words with you – concerning anything but this, or why that came to your mind so quickly, but...yes. Please." Jubilee said, horrified at her own imagination. K nodded, promising to meet them in the morning.

…...

The next morning, sure enough, K was there with him – somehow for the first time in memory, Logan was just barely on time. Jubilee was both impressed and disgusted as Logan gave K a quick kiss.

"Ready to go, girls?" he asked – was he in a good mood too? They nodded and K followed her out, Logan looking confused as she began to stretch with them.

"What are you doin'?" he asked her as she pulled her arm behind her head.

"Joining you. Unless, you don't want me to?" K replied, looking totally innocent. He looked taken back as he nodded. Jubilee leaned in close and whispered in K's ear as quietly as she could _coffee break._ K winked at her and gave her the thumbs up. As Logan finished stretching out, K made a show of pulling her hair up off her neck into a high pony tail, her eyes on the ground. Just before they started, she took off the flannel shirt she had on revealing a skin tight tank top over the obscenely tight pants she used for yoga. He froze watching her as she finished stretching, her back to him as she pulled a face at the girls. Jubes tried not to grin, seeing as she realized K's big plan was to distract Logan. When the two girls were done stretching, K looked up to him expectantly.

"Right. Come on." Logan said gruffly, leading the way. K smiled at Jubes who shook her head entirely too embarassed as they started to run together, a few lengths behind him. His pace was a little slower to start today, surprising Jubilee. Suddenly as they reached the halfway point, Jubes realized he hadn't barked at them once. K leaned toward her.

"You alright? Want me to leave?" K asked quietly. Jubilee shook her head no so K casually picked up the pace to run next to him, bumping him with her hip as she passed.

"Go back by the girls, you're distractin' me." he growled out. K grinned before picking up pace and pushing forward. Keeping a length or two ahead. It wasn't long before he'd forgotten why they were there and was simply pushing to catch K. By the time they were in sight of the mansion again, K was flat out running hard for all she was worth with him at her heels, Chloe and Jubilee feeling safe to walk the rest of the way as it was apparent that Logan was going to catch her one way or another. They heard her scream after they crested the hill, clearly he'd caught her. The girls went inside, and sat at the kitchen table, shocked when the couple came in, K's shirt with grass stains all over it, one strap torn in half.

"What the hell did you do?" Jubilee said to him when she saw the mess that K was.

"Tackled her for gettin' me to take it easy on you this mornin." He replied turning to K "Don't think I don't know what you girls were goin' for. You're gonna pay for that one, sweetheart." K rolled one shoulder up, nodding her head to the side as she got her morning coffee.

"Promises, promises. Bring it on, big boy." she teased, Logan smiling in spite of himself. He turned to the girls.

"Why don't you go on our survival trip with us? S'posed to have a few other teachers with." Logan said offhandedly. K nodded.

"Alright. Why not – though I hardly qualify." She replied. Jubilee's look turned sour suddenly as Chloe grinned. This was going to be awesome.

The rest of their morning was great. Ms. Munroe's class was an easy one – when you were awake enough to pay attention – which Chloe was for sure. The run today was a nice one – pace was good, no one yelled at her, and when it was done, she felt as if she could do it every morning. Better than coffee. Now, she was getting jazzed about the camping trip. She never thought she'd want to go back into the woods after Mr. Summers pulled them from that farm in Wisconsin after running for months with K, but now? She was confident it would be easy credit. Zoe was in agreement. The pair of them had been talking about the trip for weeks, now that Zoe heard that K was going too? Oh man – she'd find a way to keep it interesting even when it got down to berries and leaves, and from what Chloe said about how she tempered out Mr. Logan? She couldn't wait. They were watching a movie with Jubilee and Paige, munching popcorn when Zoe started to talk about it again.

"I can't wait, personally. Aren't you excited, Jubes? You haven't said a word all day." Chloe said as Jubilee continued to grump and shred the kernels in front of her. The three girls looked at each other. Clearly she was in a different world. Chloe touched her knee. "Jubes, didn't you hear me? Aren't you excited about the camping trip?" Jubes looked like she'd been hit with cold water suddenly before diving back into her scowl.

"Ugh. No. Why would I be?" she grumped in return, tearing up the popcorn with a passion now.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to ACE this." Zoe said smugly as Jubes rolled her eyes.

"You two have no idea what you're in for. Wolvie's running this show. There is no way it's going to be fun." she said dejectedly. "He's still mad at me." she mumbled to herself as the three girls looked at her sympathetically. Chloe's sympathy was interrupted when Mrs. Summers walked into the room, pinning up a single sheet of paper on the cork board used for announcements and test results. That's all she did before leaving the room. Instantly the girls and the other occupants of the game room rushed over to see what it was. They weren't expecting anything to be posted. Jubilee looked horrified for a moment as one of the older boys laughed out loud, making a lewd comment on what Logan must be up to that was so important to skip this trip. Chloe and Zoe stared at each other – did this mean K wasn't going to go too? Jubilee was already in the hall with Mrs. Summers, looking very confused as the redhead walked away.

Frustrated, Jubilee left the sisters to go to the gym. When she needed to think, nothing seemed to help her as much as running through her gymnastics routines. The sisters made their way to the kitchen, chatting together quietly as the two obnoxious boys from earlier entered, still joking around about K and Logan, hypothesizing why it had taken Xavier so long to get Wolverine his own personal sex slave.

"Alright that's it." Zoe said, rising up, fire in her eyes. "I've had just about enough of you two jackasses." she growled out.

"What – she's not a teacher here, and she doesn't do anything but him, so what the hell are we supposed to think?" The bigger one said.

"You're not supposed to think anything you misogynistic piece of shit. It's none of your goddamned business!" Zoe shouted, ready to go bare knuckles with him. He sighed and got into her face.

"OH, right. She came in with you two, didn't she? What did you learn from her? You want to show me the 'skills' she shares with you? We can go into an empty class room and you can get on your knees -"

He never finished the sentence as Zoe punched him in the throat, dropping him to his hands and knees as he gasped. She started kicking the hell out of him, his friend standing there mouth open watching Zoe kick the shit out of him until Scott walked around the corner, yelling at them to break it up, but still having to peel Zoe off him.

"My office – BOTH of you. Right now." he shouted, leaving Chloe with the other teenager in the kitchen. "You two – don't wander off. I'm going to have a word with you too." Mr. Summers shouted over his shoulder.

He had no sympathy for the boy as he gasped in the chair in front of his desk. Zoe was red faced with tears running down her cheeks, her bloodied knuckles poking out under her crossed arms. Scott sat down and took a deep calming breath.

"Alright. Why don't you tell me what happened, Quentin." Mr. Summers said.

"No idea." he rasped out. "I was just joking around with Julian and she snapped and attacked me." he grumbled. Zoe fumed.

"That is NOT what happened, you lying sack of crap!" Zoe shouted.

"Alright, take it easy. Somehow I'm not surprised that Quire's lying. Tell me your side, Zoe." Scott said, smirking to himself that she'd pounded him so properly. Zoe went in extreme detail on the things that Quentin had said as he squirmed, knowing he'd be in huge trouble for it shortly. Scott nodded as she finished. "Alright. Zoe, you've got detention with Mrs. Summers for the next three days. Quire, you've got the next month with Hank scrubbing test tubes." Scott said.

"Surprised you're not handing me over to the neanderthal." Quentin complained, his arms crossed.

"Frankly I would, but he'd likely just kill you if he found out some of the garbage you said about K. Zoe, you can go, I have more words for this little smart alec. OH, and one more thing. Not a word about this to either K or Logan – got it? It's for your protection, Quire, so don't push your luck any further." Mr. Summers said, letting Zoe leave. Chloe was waiting for her outside the office.

"How screwed are you?" Chloe asked wide eyed.

"Detention with Mrs. Summers for three days."

"That's it?" Chloe asked, stunned. Zoe smiled as she nodded. They passed Logan as he headed to the lower levels – he looked to be in a great mood, smiling a little at them as he passed, stunning both of them into speechlessness.

"Do you think he heard about this?" Zoe asked. Chloe didn't even know how to respond.


	9. Just a Tiny Twist

Chloe and Zoe met K at the bottom of the stairs. For the first time in their memory she looked … lost.

"Hey, we've been wanting to talk to you. Are you free for a minute?" Chloe asked. Zoe felt slightly guilty, wondering if the couple knew about the fight she'd been busted for. K just nodded silently and went to the blessedly now empty kitchen with them, sitting at the counter as she waited to hear what the girls had to say.

"Are you alright? You seem a little off." Chloe said as she watched K. She definitely looked stunned or shell shocked or something. K nodded again, looking around a little wildly.

"Yeah, m'fine. What's up?" she said quietly, trying to force herself to act more normally. The sisters were not convinced.

"Well, can you go to coffee or something with us tomorrow? We kinda need to talk, but I don't want to do it here and be overheard." Zoe said, needing now to finally figure out where things stood with her friend and her – what? Boyfriend? Good time? Whatever he was. She wanted K happy, but she needed to know if she should continue getting into fights if need be.

"Sounds great." K replied, a ghost of a smile on her lips. Now the sisters were concerned. They decided on small talk, trying to get K to relax and tell them what was going on. Before they could get down to gossip, Logan appeared from the hall, bringing her a bottle of water as he took a seat next to her, the sisters now a little afraid to continue the conversation. K looked more nervous too, though Logan was totally relaxed. He gave her a little squeeze and she shyly looked to him, meeting his little smile with one of her own. The girls were perplexed as he made no attempt to hold back as he kissed her. Jubilee walked into the kitchen as the two of them leaned their foreheads together, Logan leaning forward to whisper something to her, earning a smile as he stood and left with Jubilee – Jubes shaking her head at the girls and K as she followed him out the door. Before they could continue with their talk, Mrs. Summers entered the room.

"K! Just the girl I wanted to see. You, my dear are looking like a wreck lately. How are your clothes holding up?" she asked as she took a seat next to Zoe.

"I guess I'm running a little low. You wouldn't want to do me another solid would you?" K said quietly tucking a tendril of loose hair behind her ear.

"No. Absolutely not. Listen, some of us are going out this afternoon. Shopping is always a factor. Why don't you put on that dress I picked out for you and join us? We'll all be wearing them and it's a good thing to have on in some of the better shops."

"You have a dress?" Zoe said, K glowering at her.

"Not by my choice." K replied.

"I want to see it." Chloe said suddenly. "I don't think I've ever seen your legs." K laughed to herself.

"Fine. I'll put it on later. What time are you ladies leaving?" K asked suddenly, acting a little more like herself.

"After lunch. Heels, hair … make up maybe?" Jean said grinning. K rolled her eyes.

"I'll see what I can do." she replied, the girls suddenly smiling hugely at the prospect of seeing her dolled up. The girls launched into their plans for the next day, where they wanted to go – what specifically they wanted to do, K nodding for most of it, Jean surprised at how much K was agreeing to for the girls. Chloe decided to call it a night with her when the Professor came in for tea with the two women. They rushed off, smiling. Aside from K acting strangely, it was all good stuff. Tomorrow would be a coffee date, Zoe hadn't said anything, but that also meant another chance to talk with Samantha. She was really looking forward to getting back to the mall with K. They were chatting in their room about the boys that Chloe had liked when Jubilee burst through the door, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Did you have fun with the sadist?" Chloe said through her smile. She hadn't meant to smile, but Jubilee's grin was infectious.

"Oh my god, guys – he got me my birthday present early! Check it out!" Jubilee beamed, holding out her hand with the sapphire ring. Chloe's mouth dropped.

"You mean he actually bought this for you? HOLY SHIT. It's gorgeous, Jubes!" Zoe said watching the light dance off the stones.

"Did he pick this out on his own?" Chloe asked as she stared wishing she'd get something so pretty from someone.

"Oh, no. I told him I wanted it for my birthday months ago. I'm surprised he remembered it. I guess he bought it a couple days ago. He's a genius too – got my size right." Jubilee beamed, flopping herself down on Zoe's bed, grinning at the ceiling.

"So is that all?" Chloe asked. "That's all it takes to get you off the pick on Logan train? A little jewelry?" Jubes' eyes widened.

"No. That's not all, but I can't say anything else." She said cryptically as the sound of his Harley roared up to them from the garage.

"So what's the story? You can tell us." Zoe said trying to coax her secret out. Jubilee shook her head.

"I can't. I promised." Chloe's mind raced to all kinds of inappropriate scenarios involving their teacher as she looked out the window, totally perplexed when she saw K's figure on Logan's motorcycle tearing down the road as the sound of it echoed across the grounds and between the trees.

"K just left on Logan's bike." Chloe said, her face scrunched up. "Alone."

"Ooh, maybe she got pissed at him. Maybe they split up and she stole his bike to be a bitch." Zoe said, her eyes sparkling.

"Don't be ridiculous." Jubilee said. "He's just letting her take it." the sisters looked at each other with their brows scrunched, looking more like twins than just sisters.

"Why would he do that?" Zoe asked.

"He loves her. He can share with people he loves." Jubilee said, leaning up on her elbows.

"You're sure he actually loves her … like _loves her_ loves her?" Chloe asked. "Because she's fallen for him pretty damn hard and I don't want to have to figure out how to kill him." Jubes smiled back knowingly as the roar of the motorcycle returned. The girls stood up to head downstairs when Zoe saw the two of them as they headed back down the drive, K on the back this time as he really opened it up, the two of them darting down the road, her hair whipping behind them.

"What the hell? Didn't she just come back?" Zoe said as she watched them disappear down the road.

"Leave them alone." Jubilee said as she stood up to lead the way downstairs. Chloe glared at her now.

"Why the sudden change of heart, Jubes? What did he tell you?" Chloe asked, protectiveness showing for her friend.

"Just how he feels about her. She makes him happy, so I'm behind it. Is that a crime?" She asked, arms crossed. She couldn't understand why the sisters were hassling her after she'd JUST said she liked their friend. Isn't that what they'd wanted all along? What the hell? Chloe shook her head and apologized for her temper, mumbling as they went downstairs. They had a pool game to play – Jubes and Chloe against Mr. Drake and Zoe. There was a package of fireworks and stink bombs up for grabs that he'd confiscated from Quire and his friends. When they got downstairs, the game room was a buzz with speculation about Logan and K and the motorcycle ride. Bobby had refused to allow anyone to take bets – the older students trying to take advantage of the noobs.

"Stupid thing to do anyhow. Logan would never dump that bike if he could help it. I mean, it happens, but not if it's just ice. Guy could probably drive the damn thing onto the helicarrier if he tried." Bobby mumbled when Zoe asked why he'd stopped the betting. Their game started, going both ways as he tried to teach Zoe some trick shots, the game room empty by the time Logan returned with K. Bobby barely looked up as the pair of them came laughing out of the garage, freezing in his tracks when he saw the damage on Logan's jacket, bare skin showing down his leg where the road had eaten up a section of his jeans and leather jacket. K was similarly chewed up, yet the two were laughing. He walked out of the game room in a daze the girls in his wake, pool cue still in hand as he stopped in the doorway to the kitchen, K and Logan both wearing an unhealthy amount of blood on their right sides, yet grinning at each other as Scott rushed in from the garage.

"What the hell happened?" Scott asked, shocked, staring at the two of them openly.

"Someone distracted me." Logan growled out with a smirk, his hands on K's waist as the two faced each other for a kiss.

"It was low speed." K defended waving him off as he leaned in. Scott shook his head Logan pulled her behind him toward the stairs.

"What the hell?" Bobby said, dumbfounded.

"Probably better not to know, Bobby." Scott said his eyebrows visible above his glasses, the girls standing there in shock as Jubilee grinned before the sisters pulled the both of them back to their game.

Bobby and Zoe had just won – Jubilee's rampant cheating aside, they'd had a lot of fun, drifting now into the dining room. They heard a commotion in the entry where the girls realized there was a gathering of the women of the team, all of them dressed up and heading out. Zoe's mouth dropped when she realized the tiny little brunette next to Jean was their K in an icy blue short dress and the women were buzzing over what? The little crowd of women filed out the door, talking excitedly amongst themselves. K looked like she was steeling herself for the afternoon, Kitty pulling her along by the arm. Chloe was sure she'd seen a sparkle on K's left hand. Oh no. This was more serious than she'd thought. The girls kept playing pool, hogging the table as best they could, eventually having to pair up and play with and against several teachers that were milling around waiting for dinner to come around, joking with the students and generally having a good time. Zoe was shocked that her partner, Mr. Cassidy, who apart from being an excellent pool shark, had some mad skills at smack talk too. Chloe and Mr. Summers were in a close second with Jubilee and Dr. McCoy hot on their heels too. Hisako and Mr. LeBeau were disqualified for cheating – Mr. LeBeau being the cheater, of course, charging the tip of the pool cue that Mr. Cassidy held.

The sisters were conflicted on how to behave as their teachers got really obnoxious with their wisecracks. It was a blast, and when it was over it was a solid tie between Zoe and Chloe's teams, the girls having a new found appreciation and understanding of a few of their teachers – that although they were quite powerful mutants, freedom fighters and total authority figures, they knew how to have a little fun. As they were winding down their games, Mr. Summers kind of went blank for a moment, surprised by what was clearly an unheard psychic message. He straightened up with a smile.

"Guys, we need to help the ladies with their things." Scott said with a grin, hanging his cue up and heading for the garage as the women entered the house in a bubbling group of noise, Kitty running ahead of the crowd as K tried to slip away from them, Jean pulling Scott over to assess K's ring.

"Nice. Are you sure he picked this out?" Scott asked, smirking at her. K snickered as she flipped him off, trying to slip up the stairs. Chloe and Zoe in her wake.

"K!" Zoe shouted, K froze halfway up the stairs, turning to face them mid step. "So …. is it true? Are you two … getting married?" K looked like a deer in headlights before looking down at the ring on her hand, extending it for the girls to see.

"Yeah. I guess so. He asked me this morning." K said, clearly nervous about the prospect.

"Is that why you're in a dress?" Chloe asked as K finally laughed, shaking her head.

"No, the dress was Jean's idea. The ladies wanted to go to some high end stores for clothes. Dampened their day when I dragged them into the western store for my bluejeans." K chuckled, grinning at them.

"So you're _not_ going to change on us into some uber girly girl?" Zoe asked – the idea horrifying to her.

"Oh God no. If that's what he expects of me, it's over." she said, rolling her eyes as Chloe smiled, stepping up to give her a hug.

"For what it's worth, you seem really happy with him." Chloe said as she released K from her hug. Zoe was nodding, looking at the ground.

"Thanks, guys - I am. Hey, I'm going to take this stuff up. See you at dinner maybe?" she said, ruffling Zoe's already messy hair before finishing her climb. The sisters were grinning at the revelation.

"If he's not in a good mood for the next combat class, I will go out with Quire." Zoe said to her sister, as they both started giggling.


	10. Snow Day

Chloe was staring out the window blankly as the snow fell outside. The whole school was still buzzing over the latest in the couples' news. There was a lot going on. Zoe had taken every spare moment she had hanging out with her new girlfriend, Samantha. She hadn't breached the mutant discussion yet, but it couldn't be that far off. She'd been seeing her for a while now. If it was going to get serious, Zoe would need to see where Sam stood soon. What was even more intriguing was the fresh engagement of their friend. Until now, they'd never really been around someone that was getting ready to get married. The prospect of it scared both sisters a little bit. Chloe, who hadn't really dated much thought it was romantic, exciting. Zoe however, felt as though it was a betrayal. In her eyes, K was agreeing to subjugate herself for him. Chloe was left on her own to work through her feelings on it since talking with Zoe left her feeling unsure of the prospect of love for anyone. Men weren't really that bad, were they? Logan seemed like he loved her. Mr. &amp; Mrs. Summers seemed very much in love, and he certainly did all he could to protect her too. In fact, every relationship that the staff of the school was publicly known was just exactly the way that Chloe had always hoped that couples would treat each other. Ms. Munroe and Forge showed them great respect for each other, the Summers' showed them long term dedication. Ms. Pryde and Mr. Rasputin showed her that puppy love could turn into something real …. maybe. But Logan and K seemed to be a matter of white hot passion, love at first sight, perhaps.

She dropped onto her bed, laying her head on her arms as she stared down over the edge of the bed. She'd studied until she was cross eyed. The snow was falling heavy and hard, she could practically watch it pile up outside if it wasn't so hard to see so much white. She decided to make her way down to the game room to see if there was anything she could do. Everyone in the institute was on lock down for the blizzard that was set to hit tonight. Chloe abandoned her spot in the game room as soon as things got too raucous. There was a full on tournament at pool, ping pong, Foosball and the video games. Wandering from one room to the next, looking for a fairly quiet spot. The closest she could find was the kitchen, where several of the teachers were quietly enjoying warm drinks – tea and cocoa – while they quietly enjoyed the relative quiet. She pulled up an empty chair near Ms. Munroe, who generously offered to get her a cup of something warm. Blushing, she accepted, taking a sip of her cocoa as K and her fiance came laughing in from outside, a bitterly cold wind following them as Logan closed the door behind them. Both of them had snow and ice encrusted in their hair and coats, making them appear as if they'd been frosted. Snow was permeated into their jackets. She'd barely gotten herself unzipped before he'd pressed her to the door, his hands running up her sides under the coat, kissing her deeply as the snow fell from them.

"Is everything alright in the barn, K?" Ms. Munroe asked, smirking as her friends took a break in their public display. K nodded as she finally slipped out of her coat, wiggling from her boots.

"Yep. Everyone is fed, watered, blanketed, fed extra and cozy for the night. It can blow hard and nothing will bother them." she replied. Her trip to the barn tonight easily took more than twice the time it normally did, Logan having joined her to 'help' her with the chores. Chloe smiled to herself when she saw the hay in K's hair. It seemed the snow did something for Logan. He loved it, and how lucky for him that she loved it too. Chloe smiled when K took the seat next to her rather than one of the two across the table.

"So, what's the plan with you tomorrow? Any wild ideas?" K asked her as Logan leaned on the counter behind her.

"Well, no. I think the snowstorm is going to put an end to anything fun." Chloe replied.

"Oh, come on. It's just a little snow. Always something to do in the snow, right?" K said. "We can come up with something." Chloe smiled. K was trying to get her to cheer up a bit. She knew she was lonely and she didn't like it. In comparison, all her sister did was to tell her to get a boyfriend. Chloe decided to call it a night, laughing to herself when Logan and K did the same not two seconds after she declared herself tired.

"Yeah. Me too." Logan said, smirking at K, a predatory gleam in his eyes as she raised her eyebrow at him. He let her get a few steps ahead of her as she climbed the staircase with Chloe, reaching up and sliding his hand between her legs as she walked, trying to get a rise out of her. Chloe saw out of the corner of her eye what he was doing – the boldness of it in front of a student had her blushing. The innocent look on his face when K stopped in her tracks and spun to confront him was priceless.

"Can't you wait for two minutes?" she said, disbelief plain on her features. His face went from the picture perfect embodiment of innocence to positively devious in nothing flat as he smirked out a 'no' before rushing her. She slipped out of his closing arms, dashing away from him faster than Chloe knew she could move. He caught himself one handed before darting right after her as she ran toward their room._ I'll be shocked if he doesn't get her pregnant before __the wedding__._ She thought to herself. There's no way a person can have that much sex and not end up with something to show for it. She was nearly to her room when a familiar voice echoed the hallway.

"Hey chicka, how come you've been hiding from me?" Angelo asked, a sad smile on his face. He'd been trying to advance past buddies for a few weeks now, but Chloe, although intensely curious about boys was rather petrified of the prospect of what all that entailed, should she become involved. She simply wasn't ready for it.

"Oh, just been thinking a lot, I suppose." she replied, looking at her feet.

"You know, you don't have to hide if you're not up for dating. I get it. I'm no bien parecido. But I am a friend and you've been looking down lately." He told her, his self consciousness getting the better of him.

"Ang, it's not that. Prince Charming could appear and I'd be afraid of starting up something. I'm just not ready for anyone." Chloe said. Angelo perked up a little bit.

"You tellin' me I'm not charming?" he smirked. She grinned.

"That's the trouble. You're too charming." she teased. "I'm sorry I've been hiding. It's just that well, Zoe has Sam, and Jubilee is pining over Emmett all the time, and Paige and Hisako are stuck on teachers – both of whom are very taken and not at all interested. I just don't have the energy to put into a …. a relationship. It looks exhausting." Angelo laughed out loud.

"Well if you're looking at K and Logan as the gold standard, yeah, it would be, wouldn't it? How about we just hang out as amigos?" he asked, just honestly looking for someone to laugh at the couples. She nodded and he grinned, wishing her a good night.

…...

The whole of the student body was outside after the blizzard passed. Mr. Drake had started a snowball fight with a large group of older students – the whole of the student body against him. The sisters were breathless as the snow flew, leaning into a snowbank as the shouting around them continued. From their hidey hole they watched the smaller kids sledding, a few of them already worn out and just panting at the bottom of the hill. The snow was deep, up to Chloe's hips in some spots. She wasn't sure how those smaller kids were doing it, even with the path they'd trudged into the snow. She heard the front door shut hard and several of the boys in the snowball fight quit their assault. She heard Quire and Jono asking if K wanted them to clear her a path to the barn.

"No thanks, boys." K's voice rang out cheerfully. "I've got it."

"Are you sure? It's awfully deep in spots. I'd be happy to do what I can to keep you from getting too cold." Quentin said with his most sugar sweet tones. Zoe rolled her eyes and packed up a fresh snowball for him as K again turned him down. The two of them stood there watching her walk away, making comments about her as she trudged through the deep snow, the spot nearest the barn well over her waist as she worked on getting the barn door open. When the door shut closed behind her the boys finally turned around to get a face full of snow from the sisters.

"You two are perverts! I got news for you – she's _never_ going to give you two a chance! Quit ogling her." Zoe shouted at them as she rapid fired on them, the two boys diving right back into the fray, launching snow back at the sisters until both sides were actually laughing at each other. Their personal little fray devolved into just throwing snow, then wrestling in it, all four of them ending up getting whitewashed in a deep part of the lawn, laughing.

"I know she's not interested, you moron." Quire said as he closed in on Zoe. "I just like to look at her – like I'd ever touch a girl that Wolverine screwed." That kicked it off fresh, the battle waging on as suddenly the sound of a horse snorting cut through the cold air. Both of them stopped and turned around in time to see K's horse leaping out of the barn, K not even holding the reins as she gathered up an odd looking rope. "Oh thank you god, Jono – am I seeing things? Do we get to watch her up close on that damn animal?" Jono just nodded as K directed the horse past them through the deep snow over to where the growing crowd of tired younger kids was.

"You guys having fun?" K asked the smallest of the little kids, who was sitting on a saucer sled. The girl nodded her head, terrified of the woman that kept company with Wolverine. "You want a lift to the top of the hill? It's fun, I promise." K told her with a kind smile on her face. The little girl was a bit scared, but nodded her head. She'd given up long before but still wanted to play. K tossed her a rope.

"Hold on to that loop and when the slack goes out of the rope, lean back a little bit, alright? Then you just have to hold on, got it?" K told her, the little girl nervously nodding. K continued to assure her as the horse nosed up the hill. "Good, now lean back just a little bit, alright? If you slip off the sled, just let go, alright, Jana?" K instructed, the little girl beaming that K knew her name. When the slack was out, K trotted the horse up the deep snowy hill, Jana giggling all the way up. When they were at the top, K smiled over her shoulder at her. "We good? Great. See you at the bottom." she rode around the group of kids at the top, the rope dragging behind her and then down the hill to the suddenly excited group of kids waiting for her at the bottom, smiling.

"That is seriously cool." Quentin said suddenly and candidly. "Makes me want to go sledding suddenly." Zoe took one look at him and tackled him in the snow, rubbing his face into a drift. This went on for a while, until the horse started to look like it was slowing down. When K started to gather up the rope, there was a collective groan from the crowd of kids.

"Sorry guys, can't let him sweat. Maybe later if you come back out I'll take out a different horse, alright?" she said, pointing the horse back to the barn and walking him all the way, the sisters and the two boys following her.

"That's great for the little kids, but is there anything you can do for bigger kids?" Quire said, doing his best flirt for her.

"You'd have to talk to Xavier about that. I'm probably gonna catch it when I go in. I didn't even clear this. But yeah, if the snow wasn't quite so deep, I'd have something for you guys too." K replied. "But now, I have a few chores to do. Have fun guys." The group of teens stopped, letting K and the horse get plenty of room as they rode into the barn.

…...

The girls were pleasantly surprised when a few days later Mr. Summers posted up a sign up sheet for horseback riding lessons. They didn't have to think too hard to realize who their teacher was going to be, and Zoe was tickled. She'd wanted to ride anyhow, but now she got to ride AND her friend was finally going to be considered a legitimate teacher around here – which meant that Quire and his friends would be punished if they got caught talking about her like a piece of ass. Grinning from ear to ear, Zoe was proud to be the first to sign up.


	11. New Arrangements

The girls grinned at each other as they met up in the barn with the rest of the class. Their first class started up in ten minutes and they were excited to see how K did as a teacher. They were shocked at her relaxed approach. It was more like they were just hanging out with her. Everyone outside of the sisters and Jubilee were a bit uncomfortable with her off the cuff attitude. On the way back up to the mansion, Chloe overheard Quentin making a commentary about hanging out with a teacher, and how he hoped she'd get more friendly. Unfortunately for him, it was within earshot of Mr. Summers.

"Quire – my office. Now." Mr. Summers said sternly. The girls smiled widely. This was just what they were hoping for. He'd say something stupid about K as a teacher and then he was going to get it. It was a perfect day so far. Their weekly riding class got more and more intense, laced with stories of what NOT to do. They heard stories of wrecks, both those that K had gone through and some that were from previous students – always coming to the forefront when someone got careless. They had come up after a great ride one day – her whole class was grinning after she'd finally taken them on their first trail ride. Even Quire and his friends had enjoyed themselves. The girls were resting in the living room, laughing still when they over heard a commotion from one of the classrooms. Ms. Pryde was nearly shouting at K, who looked slightly horrified. Suddenly, Ms. Pryde stomped through them on her way to the garage, K shaking her head as she slipped past them to the kitchen, Mrs. Summers and Ms. Munroe smirking as they left the room behind her.

"Mrs. Summers? Is K alright?" Hisako asked quietly.

"Yes, she's fine. She and Ms. Pryde are just having trouble seeing eye to eye on something. It will be fine." Jean assured her. Just then Logan stepped into the hall from the garage, Kitty on his heels as he calmly made his way to the kitchen.

"She got Logan to back her up? That's low." Zoe said. Mrs. Summers smiled wider.

"It's so much worse than that girls. Go on. I'm sure you'll hear about it later." she told them, the girls making a choice to hurry up and get closer to the kitchen, nearly running into Kitty as she left, looking like she wished she'd left it alone. They heard Logan's low rumble and caught a glimpse of K just as she stalked out, Logan right behind her.

"That doesn't look good." Jubilee said quietly as they watched Logan rush after her. The girls took seats at the table, discussing their plans for the weekend.

"It's supposed to be nice. I was hoping we could go ice skating or something." Chloe said.

"No, I'm going to see Sam at the mall. I think I'm going to tell her I'm a mutant." Zoe said. She looked a little green as she said it.

"Do you want someone around for you?" Paige asked, already plotting to be sure that all of their little group would be 'shopping' when Zoe and Sam talked.

"Maybe. I don't know. I think it will be fine. If it's not, then I guess it's time to find a new girlfriend." Zoe replied evenly, though her hands were shaking at the thought.

"She already knows, guys." Chloe said unexpectedly over her hot cocoa.

"What do you mean? I didn't tell her." Zoe said.

"No but she saw what you did to those boys a few weeks ago. You know, how all four of them suddenly tripped at the same time from your shock wave?" Chloe explained. Zoe's mouth was hanging open. "Yeah. She's known for a while. She asked me why you didn't tell her." Zoe for the first time in ages, was speechless. "My guess is that she doesn't care, Zoe."

"Well, I guess you don't need back up, Zo." Paige said. "But we'll all be shopping anyhow."

…...

That night just before dinner time, the girls passed by Ms. Munroe, Mrs. Summers, and Ms. Pryde, who were smiling until K and Logan had their say.

"No date." K said. "Just a time frame."

"Springtime – near my cabin." Logan said. The three teachers began to celebrate

"And you can't plan it." K said, all of them now wide eyed and open mouthed.

"What do you mean? But that was the whole point of picking a date!" Kitty protested.

"No. If we're going to do this, it has to be simple." K said firmly. She turned to Logan and kissed him. "I have chores to do. See you in a few. I need a little air alone, OK?" he nodded and watched her go, Jubilee and Chloe walking up to Logan and the three women as Zoe went with K. Jean opened her mouth to complain, stopping before she started as she saw Logan's open hand raise in a signal to keep quiet as he watched his fiance step out the front door. They were looking at him as if he was crazy, Jubilee and Chloe staring at him as he set his sparkling eyes on them.

"You two – from here out you know nothing. Don't discuss it with each other. Ever. Got it?" Logan said, the girls enthusiastically agreeing as he turned to Kitty, Storm and Jean. "You three – you heard her. You can't plan it." they looked positively crestfallen. "But," their eyes all locked on him as Jean grinned. "She didn't say you couldn't help someone _else_ plan it." He pulled out his wallet, handing Jean a card. Realization hit her as she grinned. "Don't go nuts or she may hurt you. Heather has the right touch, though I may be out on a limb to think she'd help."

"I'm sure she'd be thrilled for you, Logan. I'll call her tonight." Jean said, beaming at him.

"She spooks easy, girls. Don't chase her off for me." Logan warned.

…...

Later that night after dinner as the girls were relaxing, Logan zipped past them in uniform.

"What's up, Wolvie?" Jubilee said, jumping up to see him as he headed to the lower levels.

"Got a mission with the Avengers. Be back in a day or two, I think." he replied.

"Is Beast going too?" she asked, he just shrugged.

"If he ain't too busy. See ya later, Jubes." he said as the door closed behind him.

"Now what?" Chloe said as she leaned her head over the edge of the couch.

"Nothin'. We have a math test to prep for." Jubes said as the girls gathered themselves to quiz each other. They'd been working for a good hour when K and Mr. Summers walked past in uniform, talking low to each other.

"Of course." Jubilee mumbled. "Hey fearless! Do you need your very favorite firecracker for this mission?" Scott stopped in his tracks, looking at her as K passed him by heading to the ready room.

"Sorry Jubes. It's not a simple extraction, or I'd let you go. We've been tracking this for a few weeks – we're not sure at this point if it's a rescue mission or a recovery effort. I can't have you being the one to find a body in the dessert if that's what it ends up being." He replied, honestly looking down about it.

"Well, as long as I was on your list for an easy one." Jubilee replied.

"What about us, Mr. Summers? Are we on your list too?" Chloe asked. Zoe looked horrified.

"You've shown a lot of improvement, Chloe. Yes, if you'd like to go on a simpler mission, we can start training you for that. Have Jubilee help you get a junior uniform. The two of you can run a few simulations in the danger room." Scott told her. "One other thing – when we're in uniform, you have to go by the code names, so get used to using them, and come up with one for yourself."

Chloe was tickled. Knowing that Chloe was overly excited, Jubilee closed her math book.

"Come on – may as well get you suited up now. You'll never give me any peace until we do." Jubes said tiredly, waving at her to follow her to the locker room. A few minutes later, Chloe was grinning uncontrollably at herself in the mirror, the not entirely fitting training uniform hugging her figure. The session in the danger room was an easy one, Chloe quickly learning to pull it together when the simple gymnastics program attacked her. She panicked for a split second, earning herself a punch to the stomach from a simulated attacker. It was the first time she'd faced something this tangible in the danger room.

"Jubes! I wasn't ready for that!" Chloe said, launching into the offensive as another attacker approached her.

"It wasn't me!" Jubilee complained as she fought off her own assailants. They fought more and more – every time they'd get one gone, two more would appear until the two girls were straight up working hard to keep from getting hit. Jubilee was getting mad, and she knew who the perpetrator was.

"Wolvie! Turn it off!" Jubilee shouted, her anger growing until finally, she lost a little of her control, seriously blasting the mass of attackers in front of her, shaking the room with the explosion from her plasmoids. The power in the room went off, the red safety light clicking on, barely illuminating the large, empty room. There was no light from the booth, and none anywhere else either.

"What was that, Jubes?" Chloe said, awestruck.

"Lost my temper. I don't like to do that – looks like I blew the damn electrical. Probably going to catch hell from Cyclops." Jubilee said crestfallen. The door to the room opened slowly – clearly the electrical wasn't working there either. On the other side, stood Wolverine, with a grin on his face.

"Nice work, Jubes. Looks like Scooter's gonna have some re-wiring to do." he chuckled. "Not bad on your end either, Chlo. You might just make the team after all." she blushed at his praise. "So, where's K? Can't find her anywhere."

"She's out with Scott, Remy and Rogue. Looking for a missing pair of girls. He said it wasn't simple, but not too dangerous either. I still wouldn't wait up if I were you." Jubilee said. Logan nodded and the three of them headed upstairs.

"In that case, I think I'm gonna head in. Took a few nasty hits tonight." he admitted. Jubilee was taken back. He never admitted he'd been hurt.

"What happened?" She said, as he realized his mistake in telling her.

"Oh, nothing too bad. Worst part of it was when I might have pissed off Banner afterward. He never broke the skin, but I'm bruised up pretty good." he admitted. Jubilee pushed forward and pulled up his shirt, exposing an entirely blackened torso.

"Wolvie! Even I can see you're bleeding internally! What the hell?" Jubilee said as he grabbed her hands, covering his torso up again.

"It's fine Jubes. I'll be right back to my usual jovial self by mornin." he replied. "Quit worryin'."

"You want me to bring you some pizza?" she offered.

"Already ate. Just goin' to bed. I'd like to be rested up when K gets back." he said with a grin, waggling his eyebrows as Chloe blushed.

"You're such a horn dog." Jubilee accused. He shrugged.

"Just a guy, Jubes. We're all like that." he replied smugly.

…...

Chloe was up hours later, getting her late night drink of water when the jet came back in. It took a little more time than usual for anyone to make it upstairs, and when she finally saw K numbly making her way to the staircase, she was shocked at the amount of blood on her face and soaked through the overly long trench coat she was wearing. It wasn't until morning that the girls had heard that they'd brought back a young woman, that by what they heard from Mr. Summers talking to Logan, this girl could have been in classes with them. K was quiet after the mission. Determined looking, like she had a beef with someone. When Jubilee found out it was Sabretooth behind this girls' attack – it all made sense. Tension began to mount as Jubilee pointed out that K and Logan were engaged and set to be married soon. An attack from the brutal bastard was inevitable, and if the past was any indicator, K's days were numbered.


	12. Strays - good and bad

The girls snuck down to the med bay in hopes of seeing this girl that the team had brought home. She'd been there for over a week already and no one had seen her – most of the students not wanting to see a girl that was their own age in such dire straits. Peeking in through the window of the door, they were startled. There was nothing that could have prepared them for the condition the girl was in. She was bandaged so heavily that her face was indistinguishable. Her long blonde hair was blood stained in places and she wore a cast on her arm that was over the blanket as she slept. The girls scurried away from the door on the premise of going to the gym. Neither knew what to say about the young woman that reminded Zoe of Samantha, her current girlfriend.

"The guy that did that … wants to kill K?" Zoe said, horrified.

"The guy that did that has beat Logan." Chloe replied.

"But Wolvie's beat him too." Jubilee cut in from the balance beam – neither of them had noticed the little firecracker. "And so has K. Just hope that she's ready for it when they get married."

"Why?" Chloe asked.

"He's promised to kill anyone that makes life worth living for him." Jubilee replied "K's on the list for sure now. When they get married – it's going to bring down the wrath of creep-o. Kitty said it's the only time she's ever seen him ignore Wolvie – when he was going after Wolvies' wife."

"So he's been married before." Zoe said suspiciously.

"Yeah. Couple times. But just because it hasn't worked out doesn't mean it won't this time."

"Right. Like he's going to suddenly change and stick with his wife rather than leaving her."

"No – that's not it. He's only ever divorced Viper, and that wasn't even a real marriage. His wife was murdered. That's why him trying again with K is such a big deal. He's worried sick something bad is going to happen to her." Jubilee explained as if it were the weather or directions to Harry's they were discussing.

"But K has a healing factor – that has to mean something, right?"

"I hope so. If she ends up dead I wouldn't be surprised if he just gives up all together. He tried to die after Mariko. I've never seen anyone so strong fall apart like that before or since. It was horrible."

…...

K's lessons were the only time the girls really saw her anymore. In passing they'd see her either leaving or entering the danger room, always exiting looking just as pissed off as when she entered. The fleeting moments where she looked somewhat calm were almost exclusively when she was with Logan, his arms around her and his nose buried in her hair as he kissed her neck, urging her to relax. They'd gotten it in their heads, thanks to their discussion with Jubilee and K's irritable mood, that she was nervous about Sabretooth. Going off this, they gave her a wide berth. Studying was the major activity for most of the residents as they prepared for their end of year finals. Chloe was about to beat her head into the wall over the genetics section of her biology study guide when the quiet of the living room was broken by a somewhat familiar voice.

"You girls know where I can find Logan? We have some super secret Avengers business." Mr. Stark said with a smirk, his sunglasses still in place.

"Right here, Stark." Logan's rumble answered.

"Oh good. Didn't want to have to go looking for you. Saw your girl out there. She comin' in for this or is this personal business?"

"She needs to know what's happenin'. C'mon. She's been out for a while. Probably ready to call it a day." Logan replied, leading the way out the door.

"What do you think _that's_ all about?" Zoe asked as Chloe tried to remember to breathe, shaking her head.

"I don't know but he needs to come with a warning. Having handsome billionaires sneak up on you like that is simply unacceptable. A girl needs to be ready to see him." Chloe said half under her breath.

"He has a girlfriend you know." Jubilee said as she popped her gum.

"Nuh uh." Chloe said defensively.

"Um. Yeah. Just because she's not in the paper doesn't mean anything. They've been together a loooong time." Jubilee replied, leaning back, her leg draped over the arm of the chair she was in.

"Damn." Chloe said as Jubilee laughed.

"You didn't really think you had a chance did you? I mean, you're like … seventeen. He's old enough to be your _dad._ Eeew." Jubilee couldn't help but bring the reality down to her.

"I know, but what's wrong with having a little fantasy? I mean, come on." Chloe said wistfully. After they'd gone a few rounds of 'cute boy in the mansion', the front door creaked open. K, looking very amused for once, and Logan tense and angry walked in, his hand at the small of her back, guiding her where he wanted her to go as they made their way down the hallway, a bleeding, disheveled Stark in their wake.

"It is so damn weird around here. I swear." Zoe said over her magazine. The girls waited around near the hallway, hanging out in the living room until quite some time later, the elevator opened and Stark stepped out, readjusting his tie and sporting a nasty bruise already near his chin.

"Hey Stark – where'd the bruise come from?" Jubilee called out, clearly not intimidated by the great Iron Man.

"Your mentor. Anyone ever tell you he's got a temper?" Tony replied before wishing the girls luck in their upcoming tests and leaving. Chloe stared at Jubilee.

"Why would he hit him?" she asked, horrified that he'd do such a thing.

"Probably pissed him off would be my guess." Jubes replied, going back to her fashion magazine. "Those two don't usually see eye to eye very well."

…...

It was a few weeks later when the girls were having breakfast one lovely Saturday morning when they got a quiet minute with K after she'd done the morning chores in the barn. She sat down next to Jubilee with a cup of coffee as the girls slowly woke up, crunching on their sugary cereal. The sun glinted strangely and Chloe reached over and picked up K's hand next to her mug, examining her ring. The possibility of their friend being maimed or killed weighed heavy on the girls, even Jubilee worried now, though mostly for Logan's sake.

"Your ring is really pretty. You need to clean it though – what is that in the setting, anyhow?" Chloe asked leaning in toward her hand and really examining it. Jubilee looked up shyly.

"I helped pick it out." she said quietly. K's eyes locked onto hers quickly.

"You helped?" K asked, Jubes smiled, nodding in response. "Well you did really well." Jubilee blushed.

"I narrowed it down, he picked." She clarified, reaching out and taking K's hand from Chloe and raising it to look at it better. "It's blood. You have dried blood in your setting. Gross." she said, scrunching her nose.

"Does that surprise you for some reason?" Zoe asked, chuckling. The girls shook their heads, K laughing at their response as she took her hand back and rubbed the back of her head. As they continued to eat, K got quiet, almost staring off into nowhere, her eyes unfocused as she absently stirred her coffee, staring out the window. The girls chatted about their plans for the afternoon when Jubilee's eyes went wide as she dropped her spoon. K had carefully stood up, her eyes never leaving whatever it was as she stared outside, gently setting her coffee cup down as she practically floated toward the door silently. She slipped outside, closing the door behind her as the girls stared at her – it wasn't like her to just leave without saying _something._ As the door closed shut Jubilee swore, jumping up and hastily following her outside.

"K don't!" Jubilee called out – she either didn't hear her or it just didn't register as she dropped low, running right for the massive blonde man headed right for her, clearly ready to tear her up. The man dodged in toward her, K avoiding every strike he tried to make, slicing into him instead, sinking her claws into the soft part of his thighs, his roar echoing the grounds as Logan burst past them, clearly panicked as he ran toward the fighting duo, his claws out and ready as soon as he was beyond the girls.

"Get in the house!" he shouted over his shoulder as he neared them. There was no way in hell the sisters could move right now, even if they wanted to. Jubilee actually took a few steps forward as the two of them fought. No one outside of the team had seen K fight before, and this was one hell of a display. Even the sisters who had known her best were frozen in fear and awe, particularly when Logan stopped at her command, retracting his claws as he watched for an opportunity to jump in, seeing none. A crowd was starting to grow behind the girls – other students and teachers looking for a way to assist. There was blood everywhere. K's combatant made a quick lunge toward Logan only to find himself without the use of his legs as she cut the major tendons supporting them, crumpling him to the ground. He tried to roll onto his back, but she jumped on him, locking his head between her legs, forcing him face down on the ground. He was swearing and sputtering as he finally got a hold of her, trying to wrench her off of him while she used all she had in an attempt to choke him out. She cried out in pain when he sunk his claws in her thighs, Logan finally rushing in to assist as she leaned backwards with a snarl on her face, slicing through his spine, causing him to go limp all at once, gasping for air, his claws still embedded in her legs. She was shaking when Logan yanked Creed's hands free from her and pulled her away from him. She couldn't stand upright without help, blood pouring from her as she tried to go back toward the savage beast paralyzed on the ground. Mr. Summers ran in, and with help managed to roll the beast over as K leaned into Logan, groaning. The girls were still afraid to approach.

"Time to go in!" Ms. Munroe shouted to the student body as a whole. "We need to secure him before he heals – everyone inside and out of the line of danger. NOW." The sisters almost listened until they heard K's shaking voice.

"Something's wrong." K said quietly as Logan helped her to the ground, tearing at her blood soaked bluejeans, the wounds pulsating easily visible from where the sisters stood. Logan's cry out to Dr. McCoy was more urgent and pained then they'd ever imagined possible from him as he tried to stop the bleeding. He was kneeling next to her, the tremor in his voice clear to the shocked sisters as he frantically tried to keep her awake. Within seconds, Dr. McCoy and Mrs. Summers were there, putting pressure on the wounds as Logan was directed to support her head. He rearranged her so her head was in his lap as he leaned down, talking to her, fear in his voice as she became less responsive. The girls were frozen. She couldn't die now. She was just having coffee with them. It happened so fast and the bad guy is down. No.

Creed's laughter echoed across the lawn, Logan's head whipping toward him as he spoke. Logan was visibly shaking now – was it fear? Anger? Without warning the claws came out and in a move so fast no one could follow it, the monster's head was liberated from his body, both falling still and silent as he directed his attention back to K. They hauled her onto a stretcher and ran past the girls as Mr. Summers casually booted the severed head from it's massive body while Jubilee approached him, her arms wrapped around herself.

"Is he dead?" she asked warily. The answer seemed apparent to the sisters.

"For now." Mr. Summers replied, putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her into a hug. Even clearly dead, Jubilee seemed terrified of the massive man. She disentangled herself from Mr. Summers, her hands outstretched to the head, as the plasmoids grew from her hands. He watched her with the sisters slowly approaching them while she seemed to disintegrate the head that lay bleeding on the lawn. When it was done, it was as if it had disappeared. She and the girls were directed to go inside with a promise from Mr. Summers that he would let them know immediately about K's condition as soon as he found out. They were nearly in the house when Stark landed in his Iron Man suit, the two of them casually discussing things for a moment before Stark rushed past them for the lab. They followed directions for once, ignoring the urge to follow the handsome Stark, heading up to their room to await Mr. Summer's update.


	13. Two different kinds of female minds

It was silent in Chloe and Zoe's shared room as the girls and Jubilee sat staring out the window. Jubilee was chewing on her lip, her foot bouncing rapidly as she fidgeted and stared out the window. Chloe hugged herself tightly and Zoe just stared at the floor. It had been nearly two hours and there was no word from Mr. Summers. Jubilee was near tears when she spotted Stark flying away. She jumped up, the sisters following her lead as her door opened with Mr. Summers standing behind it.

"Have a seat, ladies." he said as the girls nervously looked between themselves. "We're pretty sure she's out of the woods. Sabretooth had some metal embedded under his nails that broke off in K's leg. We got them out and she's finally healing. She can't have any visitors though, so don't ask."

"Why can't she see anyone?" Zoe asked. Scott sighed heavily.

"The last time she woke up in a lab was not a pleasant experience. Since then, she is a danger to anyone around her when she wakes up in a place like that. She is restrained, but I can't take the chance that something might go wrong. I cant have you girls getting hurt." he replied.

"Where's Wolvie? Does he need anything?" Jubilee asked anxiously.

"Logan is with her, and my guess is that he won't be leaving her side any time soon. He's a wreck right now – worried sick about her. Keeping that in mind, Jean wanted to ask you girls about the wedding now, while the two of them are occupied. All of you are planning to attend, right?" he asked, the three girls nodding enthusiastically. "Good. You'll need to go with her to find your dresses. Meet her in half an hour in the garage – and no talking about this to anyone. Alright girls?" the three of them nodded enthusiastically as they stood up – Scott pointing out to Jubilee that she needed to change her shoes – the ones she had on had a splash of blood on the toe.

…...

The sisters were getting excited. Jean had explained how K was improving rapidly, and gaining speed.

"Honestly, this is probably going to be a waste of time." Betsy said, holding up a terrible sage colored strapless and pulling a face.

"You don't know that, sugar." Rouge replied as she twirled in a full tulle skirt. Apparently they hadn't decided a theme on the cut of the dress yet.

"I know what I felt, and what I felt from him was a big rush to make it official before something else goes wrong." Betsy said evenly. "I'll be surprised if he doesn't drag her off to elope as soon as she can stand on her own again. Not that he'd be opposed to carrying her."

"If they elope, why do we need dresses?" Zoe asked, not liking any of the options in front of her.

The shop owner tried to help direct Zoe towards some appropriate choices, frustrated that this large group could possibly leave without a purchase after more or less taking over the whole shop.

"We will need the dresses." Jean said with a finality. "Yes, he's thinking of eloping right now, but he won't do it. He wants to do it right. Besides, she's forgotten about the whole affair."

"She's forgotten about her own wedding?" Chloe said in disbelief. "How do you forget your _own_ wedding?" Jean grinned in response.

"No date." she said. The group as a whole stopped all motion and stared at her. Jean took a deep breath, hanging up a poufy wedding dress as she prepared to elaborate. "No date means nothing on the calendar for her to stare at and worry about. She's got nothing to do with the prep, and she's been obsessed with taking out Creed for nearly a month. Her head's not in the game – she'll never see it coming."

"So they don't talk about it at all?" Zoe asked. Betsy laughed.

"She wanted to elope, and do you see Wolverine bringing up details on a wedding? Please. There's a reason he handed this off." Betsy said shrewdly. It took them another three hours of trying on one style after another, and the seamstress measuring every one of them before the fine adjustments were made.

"What about the bride? I can't adjust her dress without measuring her." the seamstress asked. Betsy dug into her purse handing the woman a slip of paper.

"She is unable to come down. She's currently in the hospital. You understand, of course." Betsy told the woman as she smiled at her. She looked concerned but quickly agreed, letting them know the entire order would be ready in two weeks.

"Perfect. Logan was hoping to do this right after finals are done. That will fit perfectly." Jean said with a grin.

…...

When the women got back from shopping, they were shocked to see three florist vans parked in front of the place, delivery men rushing back and forth. They parked out of the way and made their way through the deliveries, stunned when they got into the house – the whole living room was loaded with flowers.

"What's going on here?" Storm asked, grinning at the colorfully wide variety of perfumed beauties.

"I'll explain when they're done." Scott said. It took them another fifteen minutes to finish and leave before he turned to the small group of students staring at the flower shop currently taking residence in the mansion. "I'm going to need everyone to grab some flowers and follow me – ladies, you too." They all did as directed, following him to the med lab where the sisters were shocked to see Logan simply watching over her, his hand covering hers. At the first sound the group made, he had turned to see the commotion – but couldn't completely hide the shock on his face at the stream of flowers that were finding their way all around K's bed and the rest of the lab.

"Summers …. the hell is this?" Logan asked as Scott handed him a note. Logan let go of K's hand long enough to read the note. "I'll be damned."he said as he looked up at Scott.

"Stark was thinking that since the two of you are so reliant on your noses that maybe the smell of flowers would override antiseptic in the med lab, and she'd wake up calmer. He insisted on real flowers, and since it was his idea, he just sent them over." Scott explained.

"That's not a bad idea." Logan admitted. Scott grinned.

"He wanted me to be sure to tell you he's not making a move." Scott said as Logan nodded.

After they set down the last of the flowers, the sisters made their way to K and Logan. He turned to look at them when both of them quickly and awkwardly gave him a hug. He stiffened up at first, not used to them acting this way around him, relaxing as they realized that hugging Wolverine without warning or preface might not be the best of ideas.

"Alright girls. She'll be fine. Go on, you can catch up with her when she's awake." he said gruffly. Jubilee smiled at them, leaning down to kiss him on the cheek before leaving with the sisters.

…...

Finals were certainly approaching fast and the girls were realizing that testing time at Xaviers was serious business. ALL of the student body was stressed out, the teachers were collected, but their tolerance for goofing around was next to non existent. That's why it was all the more confusing when their outdoor study session was interrupted by a large truck delivering heavy machinery.

"What the hell is this about?" Chloe asked, dropping her pencil in her book. When they got to where they were unloading it all, the girls were surprised to see K bouncing on her heels next to Mr. Summers, who was signing for the delivery. As soon as the truck driver started the engine, K snatched the keys from Scott and booked it to the backhoe, firing it up and cruising past the barns.

"Um, Mr. Summers … what is she doing." Zoe asked. He raised his shoulders in response.

"Sorry girls, not sure I know – but if I did, I couldn't tell. Finals for riding class in progress."

"And she needs a bulldozer?" Chloe couldn't believe it.

"Backhoe, actually. And yes. She says she does." he replied. When they saw her a few hours later before dinner, Logan was working his way down her neck, pulling her close in a semi-private corner, K leaning into him and not even attempting to slow him down All they heard was him growling something about how diesel smoke was attractive on her or something. At any rate, they really didn't want to know. The first few finals were more brutal than they'd given the teachers credit for. They were wearing out trying to keep up. The first time they got to see K for longer that a few seconds and it was in Mr. Rasputin's art class, where she was modeling. The girls and K all had to smirk a bit when halfway through the art final, Logan made his way around the room, finishing up the class with Mr. Rasputin as the students finished drawing. He was happily waiting with a robe for K as soon as the order was given to hand in their art. Zoe actually giggled over that.

Combat class on the other hand was awful. They should have known that Logan's test would be brutal, but for some reason they didn't realize how bad it could get until they were faced with it. He made them each go individually against him in a relatively small room in the dark. It was awful and every single one of them made it out with bruises to show for it. No one got the feeling that they'd passed it.

The day of the riding test was beautiful. When they got down to the barn, they had instructions to make their way down the path, where they found an obstacle course. A very large obstacle course. The grin on K's face made it all clear. They had to run it. It was insane. Chloe had a hard time almost immediately. She did great on dressage, and she'd focused on it while they had practice time to ride, she did not however practice any of the crazy games that K had them playing. Now she saw why she should have. She slopped water down herself and the horse, making it sidestep to get away from the water spilling from the bucket she was trying to pour in the barrel. Once she got that halfway under control she couldn't get a solid handle on the rope for dragging the log. By the time she hit the end of the course, finishing up by going over several jumps, she was just happy it was over. Zoe, on the other hand had the opposite trouble. The weird cowboy stuff she did with ease, it was the backing through the cones and side passing over the log that got her twisted. The teachers were the funniest part though. None of them was sure how K had gotten them all to try the course after the students finished, but there was an immediate consensus that Logan had to do it too. Quire was still pissed off that he'd gotten his ass handed to him so badly in the combat final and was desperately wanting to see Logan fall off and get hurt – even if it didn't last. Jubilee laughed it off.

"I hope he does run it. He knows how to ride just fine." Jubilee said, the wheels turning in her head quickly. K had walked up to the student body, smiling as Bobby finished the course, half on, half off. She opened her mouth to make her announcement when Jubilee cut her off.

"Why don't you and Logan run it together … you know, like a real race?" she called out. K laughed a little as Logan nodded.

"Yeah, alright." he replied. K was taken totally off guard.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope. Everyone's had fun with it and a couple of these punks have money on it that I'll fall off. They're still mad about how their combat test ended up." he said with a wicked little smile.

"Alright then." K replied. She looked up and called out to the group. "Pick a pair of horses guys!" Shouts rose up around the group, and K and Logan went to their respective horses, leading them to the starting line. The other teachers along the course started to clap along with the kids as the couple prepared to race. "Mount up at the signal to go?" she asked him. He smirked in response and nodded. The group settled down and on Scott's signal, they both jumped, Logan getting in the saddle first, but not taking off until one foot was in the stirrup. K edged him out on the start, ignoring the stirrups altogether as she started to run. They were head to head for the whole race – silly things happening as they continued on, like the water bucket that had to be carried from one place to the other, they reached at the same time, K grabbed her bucket and rushed to the other side nearly at the same time as Logan, though instead of dumping the whole bucket, she reserved some to throw at him before booking it to the next obstacle. That set off a chain of picking on each other for the rest of the race. On the second to last obstacle was a long run where K used her horse to push him off course, reaching down between the two horses to make a move to untie his saddle. He got her to leave it be when he reached over and grabbed her ass, the both of them laughing as they finished the race, K in the lead by a length. At K's announcements at the end of the race both sisters were shocked to see Jubilee take the accuracy prize, and Hisako speed. It almost seemed that those two had their priorities mixed up between them. The students dispersed quickly, the sisters, Jubilee, Hisako and Paige offering to take care of the horses. K nodded, thanking them and congratulating them on their hard work as she brushed some mud off her jeans, Logan grinning next to her. They were nearly up to the house when Mrs. Summers started walking with them.

"Pack your things girls – but keep quiet about it. Do NOT talk to K. We have a wedding to go to." she told them very quietly as they got to the front door.


	14. Helping the Reluctant Bride

The mansion was buzzing. It seemed that everyone knew what was going on but K, and she'd been so busy setting up for the riding test that she simply hadn't been in the house very much, limiting her time around the buzz and Logan was monopolizing the time she _was_ in the house. Chloe and Jubilee were enjoying their breakfast, high with anticipation over the next couple of days. Today was the day they loaded up. Their excitement level was palpable, which was why Jean had insisted they stay in the kitchen to avoid tipping off K.

"She's not going to know what's going on until he hands her off to us, so just relax and _wait._ Don't say a word." Jean told them. It felt like an eternity waiting for them to come down. Zoe took her seat next to Jubes just as K and Logan hit the bottom of the stairs. Chloe smiled as the women stepped out and he pulled her into what might have been the steamiest kiss she'd ever seen in real life before leaving her with the crowd of women. That was their cue. They stepped up to the group just as Heather was introducing herself.

"Seriously, what is with him and all these hot redheads?" Zoe whispered to Chloe as they stepped up behind Jubilee, who giggled in response. Before K could gather her senses enough to protest, they'd dragged her to the garage and the new people were introducing themselves, trying to pull from K how she'd stolen his heart. Before she could get too uncomfortable though, Betsy mercifully intervened.

"It was instant and mutual." Betsy said as she turned to face the new women.

"What exactly is going on? I thought all that was planned was the minister. That's what I was told." K said looking nervous. Chloe was laughing to herself at K's nervousness.

"No, dear. That's all Logan had planned. He gave us the green light for the rest." Heather explained.

"That dirty rotten son of a.."

"No, he was just trying to make this right. Don't get mad at him. He doesn't even know what we have pulled together – and believe me, it's pulled together. No where on the planet has as short of a lead time as we actually had. Asking for availability for a whole month is ridiculous." Heather said reassuringly before turning to introduce the women K hadn't met, the sisters excited to meet foreign superheros. They spent the next few hours in New York, Pepper meeting them with a grin at the lobby of a massively overly fancy hotel.

"Sorry I'm late. Come on, we got to get moving, our appointment is in half an hour." Pepper told them. Heather took K by the arm and led her into the lobby, the girls following close behind her with Jubilee.

"Seriously." Zoe said as she stared at Pepper. This brought the hot redhead count up to three so far. "So what are we doing now?" K watched Pepper with the girls as Heather continued to grin.

"Well, it's supposed to be a surprise, but we thought we'd do the whole bachelorette thing today. It's the spa first, then … well, you'll see." Heather answered. K looked completely unamused.

"OK, you can just stop. I'm out." K said turning in her tracks towards the door.

"You can't just leave!" Pepper said, her eyes wide.

"Actually, yes. I can. Then I can disappear into this stinking city. I figure I'd have a couple hours before you got Logan here to try to find me." K replied as Heather grabbed her hands.

"You wouldn't really do that to him would you?" Heather asked. K closed her eyes and sighed.

"I didn't agree to this."

"Please – just do this with us, it's more for us anyhow. Please?" Jean said "I promise we'll make it fun!" The look on K's face read was pure discomfort.

"How about you guys go to the spa and … whatever and just take me somewhere for a nice root canal? That sounds better." K replied.

"Oh, come on – let us treat you." Pepper said. "Tony's footing the bill for today. He doesn't know it, but after the way he's talked to you …. I thought it was an appropriate apology from him." K smirked as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Jean was looking at her hard, the two women's eyes locked as K's eyes unfocused. After a moment, she sighed and dipped her head, whispering a quiet

"Alright. I'll do my best. Just … don't go too crazy on me." K said wearily. Chloe threw her arms around K's shoulders, bouncing her into Heather, who joined in the hug, K trying hard not to smile.

K's patience was tested nearly immediately when they checked in at the full service spa, and ended up spending the next several hours there. The sisters were in heaven. They all received the full treatment – hot rocks, facials, body scrubs, massages, and Mani-pedis. The next stop was to a suite that Pepper had booked specifically for the women to spend a little down time and shower K with lacy offerings. The girls had slipped out on Jean's orders with both Mr. Le Beau and Mr. Stark's credit lines with the intent to pick up whatever they were lacking and meet them at the hotel. The girls themselves had opted out of the massage portion of the day, giving them time to help arrange the surprise. K had tried to leave too, but Jean was ready for her, knocking her out with a psychic suggestion so the girls could get away.

They took their time, exploring the city a little as their shopping options were limited – the women in the lingerie shop eyeing them suspiciously as they sheepishly made their way through the store. There was nothing that they felt comfortable touching, let alone picturing K wearing for Logan. No, that was a little too grown up for them just yet. Maybe anonymously, for a joke, but like this? No.

"I got it." Chloe said with a smirk. "We leave the lingerie store and go find her a flannel shirt." Zoe laughed out loud, but agreed readily, rushing off to find something that would be appreciated by their friend, wrapping it carefully, packaging it as lingerie. They'd have to make sure she opened that one last.

When they got to the suite, the women were all there, and although K had been mostly compliant, she looked less relaxed then the rest of the women. Her hair had been tamed a little, her soft wavy curls lying totally flat. Betsy and Jean had their eyebrows freshly shaped, all of them had a bit of a rosy glow. Betsy rushed to them, helping them to unload the packages, smiling at them when she read their thoughts on what they'd bought for her.

"Perfect, girls. Is this the box?" Ms. Braddock asked. Zoe nodded. "We'll make sure she gets that last. You don't know it, and perhaps I shouldn't tell you, but this over a black lacy number will be perfect. Best of both worlds as it were." Predictably, K was less than amused by the lacy offerings, though she made her best attempt to laugh it off, looking totally lost when she opened the flannel shirt.

"Thought you'd need something warm to wear after he tears up all this, most likely." Heather deadpanned. K bit her lip as her eyes met the girls.

"NO. We just couldn't buy her something that … that … frilly." Zoe spit out. K smirked as she thanked them, her manicure looking like it belonged on someone else as she clutched the flannel shirt to her chest. Clearly, her favorite selection. They spent the next few hours in the suite, the women exchanging stories about past loves, near misses, and Logan, K taking it all in as she learned where everyone fit into his past. The teenagers sat close to K, listening as she was. Chloe was shocked when K nestled down and rested her head on her shoulder.

"This crap's for the birds, Chlo." K whispered. "If you're still around these people when you find the right person – do. Not. Let them. Plan it." Chloe giggled.

"What, would you rather elope?" Jubilee asked. K picked up her head and nodded her head slowly and surely.

"Yes. In that flannel shirt." K replied, the three teenagers falling into a fit of laughter. Before they could honestly call it a night, however, Pepper checked her watch and grinned.

"I hate to call it a night, ladies, but I have some last minute arrangements to take care of – someone has to keep Stark Industries running and it sure isn't Mr. Stark. Happy will make sure you all get into the jet and squared away." Pepper announced then grinned at K. "You've been a great sport. See you tomorrow." They all started gathering themselves up, and heading out.

"Why are we leaving?" Zoe asked. She'd just gotten used to the idea of the posh hotel.

"They're not getting married here. We're going to one of Logan's hideaways."Jubilee informed them.

"That's right, and even though the flight isn't long, everyone rest up." Ms. Munroe announced. As they got up to the jet, Zoe's mouth dropped. Not only were they using Mr. Stark's private jet – but apparently she had a date for the wedding. Sam was standing on the runway next to Happy, looking completely overwhelmed and wide eyed. Zoe shouted out to her and ran over, Happy bristling a little as the two girls laughingly embraced.

"What are you doing here?" Zoe said with a huge grin.

"I invited her." Jean cut in. "K said you should have your date with you for the wedding if she was free." Zoe turned and shouted her thanks to K, who just smiled in return with a little wave. On board, the women grouped up as Chloe expected. The women of Xaviers were in a group to the front of the plane, Alpha Flight's women were in a second group towards the center, so the teenagers chose a spot near the back of the plane, shocked when they found K nearly tucked away in the furthest point, hugging her knees as she stared out the window.

"Are you alright, K?" Sam asked as she sat down nearby.

"Sure, just wondering if I can jump out of this damn thing and live through it." K replied, sounding far too serious for the sisters to ignore. Within moments, Jean was looking over the sister's shoulders.

"K, you need rest. Why don't you just go to sleep." Jean said, concentrating on her. K nodded as her eyes closed, leaning against the chair she was in, her muscles relaxing instantly. "This is so hard for her, and it doesn't need to be. I know she wants him, so why is this so difficult? It's usually the man that has commitment issues." Jean said shaking her head.

"Should they even be getting married if she's this worked up?" Zoe asked.

"She'll be fine once it's over, believe me. Deep deep down, she wants this as much as he does." Jean replied.

"So, is this your Aunt? Or …." Sam asked as she looked over at the now sleeping K.

"She's a friend. Helped us out a lot when we were on the run." Zoe answered.

"You're really lucky that you're in an area that's more tolerant. Our parents helped us hide it for a while." Chloe said.

"Yeah, I guess I am." Sam replied. "Though I wish they'd let me go to Xaviers. It would be nice to relax in school a little."

"I could talk to your parents, Sam." Jean cut in. "Sorry to eaves drop, but I may be able to help. You could perhaps just go to the school – there isn't a requirement to stay there all the time." Sam's face lit up.

"Really? Because that was their whole argument! They didn't want me gone overnight to a school that's so close." Sam said with a grin, Zoe grinning bigger as they squeezed hands. "Are you sure it's not a problem?"

"It's what I do quite often. Usually though, it's to families that don't yet realize their child is a mutant." Jean replied. The girls giggled for the rest of the flight, excited at the prospect of being able to spend their school time together. They discussed the classes they might share, Sam getting very excited when Chloe let slip that K was their riding instructor.

As the plane landed, Jean gently woke up K, who seemed to forget what was going on for a moment, Jean's suggestion to sleep still strong in her mind. The car ride was long and increasingly bumpy as they neared their destination. Heather was leading the charge.

"This is close to where we found him years ago." Heather said to Jean and K. "I wonder if he remembers the spot. It was snowing that day." The sisters were curious now as to the back story, but knew that now was not the time. The cabin was spacious and bright.

"This is our cabin, K. Logan's is still a good distance from here. He and the men are there now. I can't believe he's let so many people near his place." Heather explained as the group made their way into the house, a rack full of dresses waiting for them there.

"Everyone rest up, we start early tomorrow." Jean announced as K was dragged off to the master bedroom, still groggy from earlier – it wasn't hard for Heather to get her to bed. The rest of them however were far too excited to sleep.


	15. Sending off K, and returning to reality

Chloe woke up early, she simply couldn't lay still any longer. She found Heather sitting on the deck outside with a cup of coffee in the early morning sun. She didn't say anything to her, just motioned for her to have a seat as they watched some deer graze a stone's throw from the porch. A short time later, Kitty made the rounds to all the women, handing out mimosas as she greeted them cheerfully. Heather felt badly for K, who had barely gotten any of hers down before the weather goddess rushed her into the shower, threatening to strip her down herself if she didn't comply.

"It seems as though the ladies of the X-Men are awfully bold in how they handle that woman." Narya said as she joined Heather with her drink.

"Considering they say she's both a feral and has the same hardware as Logan? Yes. Very bold." Heather replied. "Is it true?" the question was clearly directed to Chloe, who nodded her head silently. Heather had her lips pursed thoughtfully. "I wonder if Logan knows how much trouble he's courting with that. Well, you should probably grab a bite before things get into full swing. It's going to be a busy day." Heather said kindly as she stood up, already it was time to start prepping.

Within a matter of a few hours, the morning dew had dried off the meadow flowers and the scent of them was perfuming the air. The teenagers had gotten ready quickly, holding off on their make up until they got a bit closer. The sisters kept looking for a window to go and see K, but they ended up abandoning that thought when they simply couldn't get past the wall of women buzzing around her as she slouched on the bed in her towel looking more and more nervous as the day wore on. The girls were shocked when the women began to disperse one by one – unnoticed by the bride as they began to get dressed. Suddenly, Chloe realized that Jean had likely orchestrated their absences in an effort to keep K from getting too nervous. After what seemed like an eternity, it was finally time for K to dress. Surprising only those that didn't know her yet, she dropped the towel, stepping into the dress that Heather and her helpers had chosen for her. Every time K tried to take a peek at the dress, the women would distract her until they gave her the big reveal. To Chloe and Zoe she looked exactly the same as ever, only with a little more polish. It was clear though that to K it was like seeing herself for the first time. The teenagers were chatting when Rogue disappeared in a flash of satin, returning minutes later with Mr. LeBeau, who cheekily winked at them as he made his way to the master bedroom.

"De femmes, dey always need to see Remy one time before dey tie de knot. Look like I get to be the lucky man dat see her 'fore everyone." he grinned as he approached the nearly hyperventilating bride. The girls watched as Remy charmed her, ending his service with a kiss to her hand. He and Rogue made it to the outside deck, arm in arm and smiling before she took off, flying him back to where the ceremony was to take place. A moment later, K and the other women emerged. She took a deep shaky breath before forcing a smile to the sisters.

"Guess it's time to get this show on the road, girls." K said quietly. They grinned as they made their way there, special transportation arranged by Forge took the teenagers and those not involved in the ceremony there first. They were stunned by the simplicity of where the ceremony was to be held when they got there. It was simply a large meadow, littered with nearly waist high wildflowers as far as you could see. It seemed a bit more trimmed down in the area where a small crowd had gathered full of what the sisters now recognized as a large portion of the hero- world. They searched the crowd for familiar faces, finding many of the X-Men's most well known amongst a nearly full roster of Avengers and who Zoe was sure was some people that generally only had bad press. There was also several people that the girls could only imagine as masked heroes whose identities were secret still. One such young man didn't look much older than they were. When the bridesmaids showed up, the girls quickly found a place to sit, near to a very tall older looking gentleman and to Zoe's shock and awe, a man she was sure was the SHIELD director. The wedding itself was short and sweet, The grooms reactions far more passionate than the girls expected from him – even in their eyes they could see that he simply couldn't keep his hands off her once he got a hold of her. It charmed Chloe to the point that she suddenly wished she'd fall in love. What she didn't expect was the incredible and genuinely infectious grin that K was wearing when the kiss broke. Jean was right. This was just what she needed - what both of them needed. The party followed quickly after, though the girls didn't get more than a minute with the bride as she told them how she couldn't wait to change into the flannel. Zoe and Sam spent a large portion of the evening slow dancing and kissing, making plans for if Mrs. Summers could talk Sam's parents into letting her attend the school. Chloe was at a disadvantage, she thought. There were no teenage boys at the party. Every one was older, and she was sure her night was going to be spent alone until the good looking young man she'd spotted earlier asked her to dance. The two of them spent a good part of the night, chatting and twirling until Jubilee, who was dancing with Mr. Drake, made a point of teasing young Peter.

"Better be nice to her, Petey, or I'll make you pay!" Jubilee shouted.

"Don't pay attention to her, Parker. I think she got into the booze." Mr. Drake said in an overly loud theatrical whisper. He laughed nervously then looked around.

"You aren't another one of Wolverine's proteges, are you? I mean … it's cool if you _are._" he said ending it looking at Chloe.

"No, he kind of scares me? So … no. I'm here for K." Chloe replied. Peter looked shocked.

"I didn't realize she had family. What made her fall for Logan? Head trauma?" he joked, and Chloe in her daze found herself laughing at the joke as he smiled at her.

"I don't know – we should ask her." Chloe said, looking around the meadow suddenly for K, finding Logan dancing with a curvy redhead as K spun around with who Peter identified as Captain America. "Wow." Chloe said, starstruck still, and feeling like a fool for it. "Makes you wonder who everyone else is here. Most of the Avengers … that Canadian team, a bunch of people I've never really seen. I wonder if Spiderman is here somewhere." she faded off, Peter's mouth dropping open a moment then turning to a smirk.

"Probably. Looks like a who's who out there." he replied. Suddenly she looked at him thoughtfully.

"So, who are you? I'm a student at Xaviers, and you don't look too old so … what are your powers?" Chloe asked. Peter paled.

"I'm not a mutant. Logan helped me out a few times, and I've helped him … I guess we're friends." he replied, praying that would be enough to shake the little blonde off his trail. Her eyes widened.

"You're _friends_ with him? Are you a psycho murderer?" Chloe asked, only half joking as Peter broke down into a fit of laughter.

"Oh man, that's great. No. I'm a scientist at Horizon." he replied. Chloe smiled at him then began to look around again, not only was the bride and groom MIA, but her sister and Sam were gone too. She was starting to feel a little lost, in a crowd of strangers when they heard a commotion that caught the attention of most people there. Peter stopped dancing, still holding onto her as they both focused their attention on a very crowded looking darkened area where a flash of metal claws appeared briefly followed by a loud protest from whoever was on the receiving end.

"Well, that had to happen sooner or later." Peter said, hesitating only a moment before kissing Chloe's hand and thanking her for the dance. "Think I'll pop over and see if anyone's bleeding. Thanks for the dance, Chloe." he smiled before heading toward the commotion. He hadn't gotten entirely to the group when it broke up – neither feral visible anywhere near it. Chloe found her way back to a seat where Jubilee was joking around with Mr. Drake. The three of them spent the rest of the night joking around until it was time to head back in the wee hours of the morning. It wasn't until it was nearly time to leave that Zoe registered that they hadn't said goodbye to K.

"Forget it. He took off with her hours ago. They're probably out in the woods right now, dirty and naked and dirty." Jubilee said.

"You said dirty twice." Zoe mumbled.

"Two kinds of dirty." Jubilee answered, pulling a face. The sisters giggled and they gathered their things, there was very little clean up, and it went fairly quickly, everyone wanting to get back to their creature comforts, even if it felt odd to just leave the newlyweds alone in the middle of nowhere with no transportation.

On arriving back at the estate, Mrs. Summers wasted no time arranging for a meeting with Sam's parents. She and the Professor were going to meet them the next morning to see if they could persuade them to allow her to join the school.

"Where are you going to meet them? Like is this something that usually happens at their house, or a public place?" Zoe asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Relax, Zoe. They're coming here. They need to see what this place is and what we have to offer. It's less common, but in this instance, it's the best idea. Just relax. This will all be fine." she assured her. Oh god. Quentin and his gang. Please let them just behave for one day.

…...

Zoe couldn't sleep that night, and she'd been drinking coffee since 5:30. Sam's parents were coming to take a look at the school and meet with the Professor and Jean. Oh god. Chloe had already disappeared to the great outdoors with her damned romance novel and Jubilee was supposed to be in the barn taking care of things while K was away with Laura. She sat there, jiggling her foot and staring out the window when Mrs. Summers came down and greeted her.

"What can I do? How can I help? There has to be something I can _do._" Zoe spit out. Mrs. Summers stared at her for a moment, taking in Zoe's state of mind.

"Yes. You can go with Mr. Summers for a run. He's taking most of the kids out and I promise it won't be nearly as bad as when Logan takes you." She said evenly.

"But -"

"You're stressed out and need to burn off the six cups of coffee you've had. Be ready out front in half an hour."

"But Sam will be here in an hour!"

"I know, and you will be running when she arrives. You should be cleaned up, however when we're done. Be sure to wear your school sweats." Jean replied. She never saw the car arrive, seeing as they apparently were running late (the nerve of some people) and Mr. Summers sent them in a direction where they couldn't see the house as they entered the woods – on a totally different trail than the one that Logan used. Ten minutes into the run and she realized she didn't need to watch the ground so closely. This trail was groomed, flat and open. Nothing like the uneven ground and fallen trees that Logan ran them through. Wow. This was almost enjoyable. On arriving back at the house, Scott stopped her, making sure she stretched out before heading inside. She slipped in just in time to catch Sam with her parents, all three of them grinning.

"Hello, Zoe – nice to see you again." Sam's mother said warmly. Zoe smiled. Mrs. Brown reminded her of her own mother in a lot of ways. "Are you a resident here?" Zoe nodded with a smile. "What's your favorite class, Zoe?" Mrs. Brown asked.

"Riding class for sure. It's after school hours, but it's always fun." Zoe replied.

"You offer horseback riding as well?" Mrs. Brown asked with a surprised look.

"Yes, but the riding instructor is on her honeymoon." Mrs. Summers replied.

"What does she charge for lessons?" Mr. Brown asked.

"Oh no, there is no charge for students of the Institute. It counts as an extra curricular and an elective class." Mrs. Summers replied. "They meet once a week for lessons, riding time is on sign ups and there is a club that trail rides on Saturdays."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you for having us, Mrs. Summers. You'll be hearing from us shortly." He said with a smile. The car wasn't halfway down the driveway when Zoe was pestering her.

"ZOE. Let them talk! I'm sure Sam will tell you their decision before they call me." she replied, as she re-joined the Professor in his study. Now she had to wait _more. _What can a girl like her do while she waits?


	16. Summer Break

It was nearly three days before Zoe heard a word from Sam. She was positively sick over it by the time the girls met up at the mall.

"My mom says I can try it on a trial basis, fall semester to start, and if I do well and keep out of trouble, then they say I can keep going. They're really just worried about college and making sure that I'll be able to get into a good one." Sam told her over her break from the bookstore.

"Well, awesome! You'll do really well, I'm sure!" Zoe said with a grin – after all, Zoe had no problems with any of their classes – sure, Dr. McCoy's classes were tough and you had to study until your eyes crossed – and maybe Logan had never given anyone better than a 'C' in the history of his teaching there, but now that he and K were married, he should be in a slightly better mood now, right? That had to count for something, right? I mean … how perfect did Sam have to be?

"She said straight B's at a _minimum_." Sam clarified. "She won't let me continue with less than that." Zoe worked her lip over as she debated it. She'd just have to talk to K and see if she could get Logan to lighten up. That's all there was to it.

…...

An entire month went by with no sign of the feral couple ever coming back. Even Jubilee was starting to think he'd disappeared off the face of the earth. The Summers' were very tight lipped about what was happening, even though Dr. McCoy had accidentally let slip to Jubilee that the honeymoon had been interrupted by Avengers' business.

"If they were interrupted, why hasn't K come home to wait for him?" Chloe asked him, her arms crossed and her hip cocked as she tapped her foot.

"Forget I said anything, ladies. I'm sure they're having a lovely time." the furry blue doctor said before retreating toward his lab.

"Hank, suit up, we have to go." Scott said as he made his way down the hall, intercepting Dr. McCoy before he could enter the elevator.

"What seems to be the trouble, o fearless one?" Hank said with a grin.

"I'll give you a couple clues – short, clawed and snarky as hell."

"Ah. Tell me about it on the way – little ears are eavesdropping." Hank said as the doors to the elevator closed. Jubilee grumped as she made her way back to the sisters.

"Well, one of them is in trouble." she announced. "Not sure which one though. Who wants to put a bet on it?"

"I've got fifty on Logan." Mr. Drake said as he stepped up behind Jubilee, pulling out his wallet.

"You can't just make bets on who got hurt!" Chloe spit out, frustrated to the point of anger.

"Sure we can. We bet on just about everything. Fifty on Logan." Bobby repeated, slapping down his cash. Jubilee looked reluctant to take the bet.

"I don't have fifty, Bob-o. How about I'll put two weeks of chores down?" Jubilee said.

"Really? You're going to bet against Wolvie coming in here on a stretcher? Sucker." He replied as the two shook on it. "Either one of you two want in?" Zoe thought it over.

"Thirty on K." Zoe said pulling out her cash.

"Zo!" Chloe was nearly in tears.

"Hey, she's been getting into trouble since hooking up with him. I gotta take the bet." The room shook as the jet lifted off vertically then disappeared into the overcast sky.

"Got a few hours until we know for sure." Bobby said as he unwrapped a sucker.

"Hey! Didn't you take that from Hisako?" Chloe asked. Bobby tried to look innocent.

"Yeah. I guess I did. Perks of being a teacher, I guess." he grinned before heading off to the game room. He was going to try to get Remy in on the bet, sure this was going to be an easy way to make some cash.

…...

Two hours later, Bobby was swearing as Jubilee and Zoe took his and Remy's money. They weren't exactly celebrating though. It was a rare occasion for Logan to look like he was going to be sick, but this was one of those days. As they discussed what could have happened, they watched Hank flutter over her as he checked levels and pulse rate, lifting up her gown just enough to place some leads and monitors.

"She make any improvement yet?" A deep rough voice asked. Chloe spun around to realize she was face to face with the director of SHIELD. She nearly squeaked as he scrutinized her.

"No. Nothing yet. Pretty sure she's in a healing coma. Hank's got her fluids cranked to encourage her to clear everything out." Mr. Summers said as he stepped out of the ready room. "Maybe you want to talk to me – maybe tell me what the hell happened to her?" the anger in his voice was easy to catch. Fury looked at the teenaged girls nearby before deciding what he wanted to say.

"Maybe later. I think first I need to have a word with an old friend. This was not the way for me to introduce myself to his new bride." Fury said, letting himself into the med bay. Mr. Summers swore under his breath as the door closed behind Fury. The girls had never seen him like this before. It wasn't until Jubilee suggested they go to bed that the girls realized how serious this was.

"We shouldn't be hanging around the med bay if Fury's going to be here. It's just not smart." Jubes said as they retreated, the sisters feeling badly that K was again in Dr. McCoys' very able hands.

They were rather displeased to hear from Mr. Summers a few days later when they went to check on K that she was gone again.

"Did SHIELD take her?" Chloe asked, sure that was the only reason Director Fury would be there. Scott chuckled.

"I'd like to see that." he mumbled under his breath. "No. SHIELD didn't take her, she and Logan slipped off to parts unknown to squeeze in a little more private time before we have to get ready for classes to start." He replied.

"Ugh." Zoe said looking positively appalled, causing him to grin earnestly. When the newlyweds finally did return things got interesting.

"K, you can't just ignore Nick Fury. He'll come after you." Jubilee said one evening as K leaned into Logan, his arms around her while they sat around a campfire. K rested her hand on Logan's thigh as he kissed her head.

"Sure I can. I'll just take out his other eye if he keeps acting like a jackass. How would he find me then?" She said snarkily. Logan chuckled as he rubbed her back.

"He is going to make a pest of himself, darlin'." He rumbled, surprising the sisters that he'd agreed with Jubilee. K didn't reply but to kiss him.

"How many messages has he sent?" Zoe asked.

"No idea." K replied. No one had thought to keep count. Of course, no one had thought that K would hold out for this long either. A week into her ignoring Fury and Logan had even mentioned that giving him his report would get him out of her hair, to which she threatened to ignore him too. It was that much more entertaining when Mr. Stark came in the next day asking her to help him again. The sisters were in the kitchen with K when it happened, stunned at how she spoke to the billionaire, but highly amused at her quick responses to every thing he had to say. They heard that Cap had tried to get a report from her as well, and that he was just as lucky as Stark, so they were confused when she actually led him down to the Professor's office one afternoon a week and a half later. When Captain Rogers left, K in his wake he took a moment to thank her genuinely for her time and report.

"I'll take care of it. If this doesn't make Fury happy, nothing will." Cap told her before tipping his hat and leaving the mansion. K sighed as she turned to face the sisters with a smirk. Before she could say a word, the front door opened again with Sam walking in smiling sheepishly, her parents behind her.

"Are my eyes playing tricks on me, or was that man leaving a dead ringer for Captain America?" Sam's dad asked.

"He gets that all the time." K replied as she introduced herself. After a quick chat with Sam's parents, K led the adults down to the professor to fill out the required paperwork for Sam to attend leaving the girls to their own devices.

"I can't believe you're going to be in school with us!" Chloe beamed. It was odd for her to get used to the idea of her sister dating a girl at first, but when she realized how much happier Zoe was once she'd admitted she preferred girls, she quickly learned it didn't matter who it was you loved, as long as they loved you back. K came out of the office a few minutes after bringing them in, smiling at the girls as she passed.

"Don't go too far girls. This will be a quick one." K warned as she grabbed a bottle of water.

"Why is it a quick one?" Zoe asked, worried that this wasn't' going to work out.

"They already hit me up for riding lessons. When they come out, we're going to head to the barn for an evaluation. You ready for that, Sam?" K said as she took a drink. Sam was grinning but nervous as she nodded, sticking one leg out to show K that she'd worn appropriate footwear. "Great. We'll determine which days you'll be staying after school to ride. Though, I'm sure with a little hard work you can keep up with Zoe and Chloe's class." Sure enough, Sam's parents were out a few minutes later, excited to see if Sam would take to horses like she always swore she would, given the chance. K took her time with Sam. Sam's parents were very close the whole time, watching K carefully as she worked with their only daughter. Once they were in the barn, K pulled a saddle and bridle for her then carefully chose a horse – a very sweet but not entirely pretty appaloosa. K gave her the one on one time needed to prepare her then took her to the round pen on a line where Sam mounted up for the first time, K moving her through the lesson at a good clip until she had her trotting off line and directing the horse on her own well. Sam was grinning at the end of the lesson, and her parents were pleased.

"What kind of riding do you specialize in, Mrs ..." Sam's mother asked.

"Howlett. All styles. I tend to teach a mixture of dressage and western though. The western saddle is the most secure for beginners, but the dressage teaches them to be gentle on the animal while having a greater amount of control over the entire body." K replied evenly. Sam's mother seemed pleased.

"Well, wonderful. Just wonderful. Sam, did you want to stay here for a few hours with your friends, or ..." Sam's father offered.

"Yes! I'd like to stay – if that's alright." Sam said sheepishly. K smiled back at her.

"I'm sure that's fine. One of us can give you a ride home in a bit." K replied. "I'm pretty sure Mr. Summers had some errands to run anyhow." K said calmly, easing the parent's concerns that the staff was too casual with each other, having heard the girls refer to K simply as K.

It was set. Sam was to be the first non-resident student at the Xavier Institute. There was just one concern that Sam and Zoe had and now was as good a time as any to address it. Sam's parents waved goodbye as K led the horse back into the barn, the girls waiting a moment before they followed her.

"K can we ask a favor?" Zoe said shyly as K pulled the saddle from the horse.

"Sure. Never hurts to ask." K replied, not really paying attention as she began to brush him out.

"We're a little worried about Sam's grades." K froze for a moment, as she suddenly figured where this was probably leading. "Her parents say she can only stay if she keeps her grades at a B - minimum."

"I'm not much of a tutor, Zo."

"No, we're not worried about academics. It's combat." Zoe said quietly. The three girls were holding their breath as K sighed.

"I'm not going to ask him to go easy on you. Not when he's right." K replied.

"But he never gives anyone better than a C. Ever." Chloe complained.

"Then do better than C work. If you want a better grade in his class – impress him."

"But Jubilee can't even get better than that."

"That's because Jubes doesn't push herself. She tries to float on their friendship. Push hard – I mean _hard._ And you'll get your B. Hisako got one last semester."

"But Hisako nearly killed herself!"

"Then I guess you know what it takes. It probably wouldn't hurt to ask him for extra help after class."

"Extra time with the sadist? Are you crazy?!" Zoe shouted. K dropped the brush into her bucket as she walked around the horse to look at them properly.

"Zoe, you're pushing it. He's not a sadist. Work harder. _Ask_ him what it will take to get better than a C." K said calmly.

"I just don't understand why we even _need_ a combat class. Not everyone is going to go on to try to be on a team. Most of us just want to live." Zoe grumbled.

"Alright. You want my help, fine. Come on, girls." K said, grabbing a hold of Zoe's hand and dragging her behind her.

"Where are we going?" Chloe asked, but K refused to answer. Suddenly the sisters got it as the garage came into view, where Logan was tinkering with K's motorcycle. "No!" Chloe whispered, trying to get K to stop, but K just raised an eyebrow as she called out his name. He turned slowly, his eyebrows drawing together when he saw Zoe struggling against K's grip while she dragged her closer.

"The girls have a question." K said, shoving Zoe toward him as he turned around fully to face her, not bothering to stand up, his greasy hands on his thighs as he waited. "Go on girls."

"What … what would it take to get better than a C in combat?" Zoe said nervously. Logan watched her thoughtfully for a moment as she looked ready to run, sure she'd pissed him off.

"Definition of a C is average. Do better than average." he replied.

"But how do I know what average is?" Sam said – not having met Logan yet, and blissfully unaware of his 'other' identity.

"If it's as good as everyone else in class, it's average. Do better." he replied, leveling her with his glare. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm busy." he growled out as they turned to leave. "Not you." he said staring at his wife. "I got plans for you." he said low. K grinned as the girls made to pass her by, more than ready to leave the two lovebirds alone and get as far away from them as possible.

"Does everything he say to her sound dirty?" Sam asked as K's laughter echoed behind them.

"Yes. Every single thing he says to her. All the time." Zoe replied.

"You're exaggerating, Zo. He's not that bad." Chloe said. "You just have a dirty mind."

"Yeah? Well another week or so and she can judge for herself." Zoe said, still angry with Logan's answer of work harder. Of course he wouldn't be a help. She was even more upset when she got done talking to Mr. Summers.

"Sorry girls. This is one area he's right. If you want a better grade in his class, you'll have to earn it. And don't even ask – it _is_ a required class." He said calmly.


	17. Gifted Youngsters

Never in her life had Zoe ever been excited for school to start, until now. The past few weeks were long as the girls spent as much spare time at the mall as they could manage, hitting up all of the adults for rides into town every chance they got, even being thrilled when Jubilee had talked Logan into taking her to shop. Finally, the first day of school was there and everyone at the institute seemed glad to have things underway. Sam's schedule was nearly identical to Zoe's, only finding herself in a different class for Math – Sam being in the more advanced class taught by Mr. Drake and Zoe in Mr. Summer's class. She was thoroughly enjoying her classes, raving about how much more interesting it was there. She loved the teachers, and the classes moved at a pace that suited her better. The riding classes she was in were exciting, K keeping it fresh for all of them, old and new. Combat class was much scarier than the girls had described to her however.

This year, K had been recruited to assist Logan and the two of them fighting was a fearsome thing, neither of them giving the other much of a break. It would start easy enough, Logan talking them through what they were supposed to learn with K acting as either attacker or defender as he walked them through it slowly, then the two of them diving into it at full speed, usually too fast for most of them to really see what had happened, and then the class would divide up, attacking one or the other. The first few days of class, all of the boys had tried to get into K's line until they realized that unlike Logan, she didn't really understand holding back on someone larger than her, and they were really in for it if they tried to cop a feel in the process. So far none of them had been caught by Logan, which was just as well, since K's punishment was harsh and unforgiving, and always followed by a quiet call to the perpetrator to let them know they'd earned themselves time mucking stalls. Sam was especially charmed by the fact that even if both of them seemed completely irritated, as the class left, the two of them would meet up at the center of the class as the last of the students left, taking a moment to kiss before the day continued.

They were more surprised when the first riding club hit and Logan was there too, clearly helping her keep things calm as she led the group and he took up the end of the line. On the very first trail ride of the year, Zoe found herself having trouble with her horse, slipping further and further behind when Logan rode up next to her and told her to stop her horse. She was nervous, sure he was going to yell at her for something she did wrong when he dismounted and readjusted her cinch, double checking her rigging and adjusting the bridle for her. Someone in a different class had used it on a different horse and she hadn't thought to check it before they took off. When he was finished the horse was much more responsive and without a word other than to make sure she was OK, he mounted back up and urged her to trot to catch up to the group. _Wow._ She thought to herself. _ I guess he's not a total sadist._ As she caught up to Sam, K turned in her saddle, looking behind her to see how all were doing. When the trail ride was over, they all put the horses up, Zoe deciding to thank Logan by offering to put his horse up for him. He nodded his thanks to her as she walked off with his horse, smiling to herself. Maybe she'd get him on her side yet.

…...

The plan of getting Logan on her side to help Sam? Yeah, that didn't work at all. It seemed that Logan being nice outside of class equaled him being tougher _in_ class.

"Come on, Zo. You're never gonna break a hold like that. Twist, damnit." he growled at her as she tried to break his grip. She tried, but it just wasn't going anywhere. Eventually, he let her go, telling her to get her shit together and be ready next time. She was practically in tears when class ended, and in her anger confronted him, demanding to know why he was being so hard on her.

"Didn't you say you wanted better than a C?" he asked, slightly confused.

"No, I was asking for Sam! She has to get better than a C to stay here, or her parents will pull her out next semester." she replied in tears.

"Ah. I see. So you don't care about your grade then." he said.

"No, I do, but jeez, no one can break your damn grip." she said confused as his stance relaxed a hair.

"Sure you can. You're just doing it wrong." he replied. She finally started to cry as he approached her, calming her down before gently guiding her this time and explaining it more thoroughly. His grip was just as solid as before but with the more targeted coaching she got it on the third try, surprising herself as he smirked. "Listen closer in class and you'll do great. Same goes for your friend. You damn kids are so busy worryin' about other crap you forget where you are. Concentrate and you'll be able to do what I tell ya." he was right, of course. She relayed the message to Sam, and the two of them seemed laser focused the next class session, earning them Logan's attention and scrutiny as he singled them out and pushed them harder than the rest. They found that when they did _exactly_ as he directed they could do what he asked, but missing a step, or trying to improvise ended up with them unable to perform at all. They were heading into winter when the girls approached him, wanting to know where they stood.

"You got a test next week girls. You can figure it out then." Logan replied coolly as he punched in his code for the danger room.

"But we need to know – my parents won't let me continue without a B or better!" Sam begged. He paused and took the girls in. they really did look desperate.

"What difference does it make, this week or next?" he asked standing halfway in the danger room.

"Please!" Zoe tried. He slid his cowl on as he considered them.

"Tell you what. Go, change into something to work in and meet me in fifteen minutes. If you two can find me and hold your own, you'll be doin better'n average." he replied. "Otherwise, you'll have to impress me on your test." the two of them ran for the locker room as Logan chuckled to himself. They still had no idea who they were dealing with. While he waited for them to decide what to do, he started his simulation, ripping and fighting with various random opponents until Scott's voice echoed down to him from the control booth.

"The girls are here – you have a program in mind for them?" Scott asked.

"Yeah, why don'tcha throw up somethin' I can hide in then let 'em in." Logan replied as he waited for the room to change.

"Logan – take it easy on them. They just want Sam to stay."

"Just need them to see why I push them so hard." The door opened up and the girls entered, the illusion flickering for a moment until the seal latched properly. They were stunned to find themselves in a deep green forest, with ferns nearly as tall as Logan was.

"Wow." Sam said, taking in her first session in the danger room with the holograms in full swing.

"Yeah, amazing technology an' all that. Here's the deal girls. You played hide an' seek as kids, right?" he asked, both girls nodding hesitantly. "Well, that's what we're doin' today. I'm gonna hide and you're going to try to find me before I attack. Now, I'm not gonna be the only thing out here lookin' for you. You gotta take down whatever comes at you – even if you think it's friendly. I'd like you to do it without your powers too. Got it?" he explained. The girls looked nervous as he melted into the underbrush. When Zoe stepped forwards to try to ask him for further information, he was long gone.

"Oh shit." Zoe whispered. They'd never seen him do anything even close to this. She didn't know he could do it. They had imagined that he was just bold and in your face wherever he went and somehow, him and his bright yellow uniform had just vanished. She scanned the forest around her carefully, looking for even the slightest indication of his signature yellow, finding nothing.

"You're not going to find him like that, Zoe. You could have been right on his tail and lost him. This is _not_ an easy exercise. I suggest you get moving." Mr. Summer's voice echoed down. The two girls looked at each other nervously then simply began walk, Sam nearly screaming when an MRD officer rushed her from nowhere. She barely dodged him before striking out at him, hitting him in one of the acceptable spots that Logan and Scott had deemed 'down'. This went on for nearly twenty minutes before Logan slipped out and took down Zoe. Sam didn't even see her go down when he slipped up behind them and pulled her into the brush. When she whipped around to find her, she got a chill as she realized their teacher had just totally removed her girlfriend from the scenario, her only clue to her disappearance being the rustle of a few ferns on either side of the path - she still had no idea which direction he'd taken her. Logan's voice echoed from what felt like miles away.

"Just you now, Sam. Don't forget your training." he taunted, knowing damn well the girl was freaked the hell out and on the edge of panicking. She strained her ears as she listened for him, any indication as to where he might be, predictably hearing nothing until she saw a flash of yellow from the corner of her eye. She turned to face him just as he dodged in, getting a hold of her arm and wrenching it behind her back. She panicked at first, but fought back as he'd taught her. He blocked everything she threw at him until she remembered their first lesson and actually got a hit in. Immediately, he smirked and let her go.

"Whadda ya know. You do remember." Logan said looking pleased. "End simulation, Slim." The forest faded away to the smooth metal walls they were so familiar with, Zoe was sitting tied and gagged in a far corner, the ropes melting away with the simulation. "Not bad, Sam. Zo – you need to focus." Logan told her with a scowl. Nervous and unable to wait until grades came out, Sam had to ask.

"How did I do? Was that good enough for a B?" she asked him cautiously. He turned to look at her as he pulled his cowl back off, considering her.

"Yeah. I think you've done better than the class as a whole. Don't make me regret it – I want to see you working just as hard next semester." he warned. Thrilled at his answer, she rushed forward, giving him a quick hug before she realized who she was hugging as Mr. Summers snickered in the booth. "Alright, get outta here before I change my mind." he growled out. The girls wondered if they'd actually embarrassed him when he didn't test them at the next class, skipping over both of them as he ignored them completely. He slipped out before either could talk to him, Jubilee cluing them in that they'd need to talk to Jean now to get their grades.

"What about our finals for combat?" Zoe asked Mrs. Summers nervously.

"Oh, Logan turned those in last week." she replied. Sam and Chloe paled.

"Oh no. When? What did I get?" Sam asked, convinced that she was screwed and Logan's private session with them was simply to taunt them. Jean unintentionally 'heard' her line of thought and took pity on her, taking the girls to her office to look it up and see what it was. A few minutes later she found the file Logan had given her. Both Zoe and Sam had managed a B-. Jean shook her head.

"If your parents take issue with that, let me talk to them. I'll personally let them know that Logan is the toughest to get a good grade from and that a B- is phenomenal for his class." Jean told her. "You two should be proud, but a warning – he'll be expecting that level of work from you next semester. Your B this time will be a C next time unless you improve significantly." The girls paled at the thought.

"He's trying to kill us." Sam whispered, suddenly seeing Zoe's interpretation of him as a sadist.


	18. Coming Out

What a rotten thing to do – give report cards out just before Christmas break started. But, that was exactly what happened every year. Students that had loving families that was safe to visit got to head home with proof of the work they'd done while away. This was a two fold problem for Chloe and Zoe. On one hand, they got to see exactly where they stood, and generally it was a good thing, but on the other hand, they saw students leaving for a few weeks that got to see their families. Their parents knew where they were – on their arrival and hearing that the parents had help them to run, the Professor contacted them to let them know their daughters were safe, cared for on a 'special scholarship' and working towards graduation. This however was the second Christmas that they hadn't seen their parents and both girls were getting terribly homesick. They were sitting in the living room with Jubilee discussing their grades they'd just received. Jubilee was ticked off that Zoe had managed to pull a B in Logan's class.

"That's not fair – why didn't _I _get a B? I deserve one!" she bitched. Zoe had aced everything else, but stared at the B on the paper with a silly grin. She'd really worked her ass off for that. K was right, asking him for extra help and really really trying did pay off and she felt as if she'd earned it. In fact, she found herself vaguely wondering if an A was possible. There was a soft knock on the door and Chloe jumped up, assuring Ms. Munroe that she'd handle it. When she opened it, she took one look at the couple behind it and froze, mouth open. It took her a moment before she started to cry, throwing her arms around her mother's neck as they tearfully greeted each other. Zoe jumped up to see what the commotion was, throwing herself into welcoming them, also tearfully greeting them as Ms. Munroe kindly suggested they all step in out of the cold.

"How did you get here? Why didn't you tell us you were coming?" Zoe tearfully asked, smiling as she cried.

"We got a letter about a month ago from one of your teachers saying you were down, so we sold a few things and took all our vacation time to come see you. We're here for a week." Their father told them.

"Who was it? Which teacher?" Chloe asked

"I'm not sure … she signed it with just a 'K'. Is that something that sounds familiar?" her mother asked, concerned about the kind of teacher that might go by a letter only, an old Ed Harris movie with a hooker that went simply by 'V' popping to mind.

"Oh, she's great – but she's not here right now. She and her husband left yesterday." Zoe said with a grin.

"Yeah, she's really helped us out." Chloe added. "She saved us when we were running."

_Don't tell them about any of the experiments that were done to her, girls. I'm not sure they'd be very understanding._ Mrs. Summers' voice echoed in their heads.

"So she's a newer teacher then?" Mr. Schroeder asked.

"Yes, our newest." Mrs. Summers replied. Their parents drew the correct conclusions that she'd been pulled from trouble at the same time as their girls. None of it mattered though. They were thrilled that the girls were safe and hadn't ended up in some prison camp for mutants. They were billed as 'settlement camps' but they'd seen the undercover pictures that the Brotherhood had put up on billboards showing what the government was doing when they captured a 'dangerous' mutant. Truth be told, Mr. Schroeder was anti until his daughters were revealed to be gifted, now he spent much of his free time researching the mutants' side of what was happening in the world. What he had been finding was grim. Rumors of gruesome and barbaric experiments being performed on unwilling participants was starting to find their way to the general public. He was worried for his daughters welfare, and wanted to be sure this 'school' wasn't some cover for a lab that would harm them. He could hardly take his eyes from Mrs. Summers though, having definitely recognized her. When Mr. Summers stepped into the room, he paled. Yeah, that visor was unmistakeable. He ran through all he'd learned and read about the X-Men, both good and bad. Jean had overheard his thought process and realized quickly that she'd have to find a way to let Mr. Schroeder understand that the Brotherhood was generally built of bad guys intent on ridding the world of non-mutants, even if their current wave of propaganda sounded like a human rights campaign. Jean spent a good half hour talking with them assuring them that the girls could go home at any time, and that their transportation would be taken care of.

"How do you afford to keep your doors open if you're offering free tuition and board, not to mention transportation to all these kids?" Mr. Schroeder asked, still not entirely convinced that this wasn't a masquerade for a detainment center.

"Our founder is a very wealthy man that is wise in investment. However, to supplement that, we do receive several grants from the Worthington Foundation, and the Maria Stark Foundation has been very generous in recent years as well, making our students eligible for scholarships from both." Jean supplied. His eyebrows went up. Stark Foundation. Well, that was an upstanding group. The rest of their meeting was uneventful, they would be staying in a suite that Xavier kept open just for occasions like this. The girls were thrilled to spend hours on hours with their parents for the first time since they had to run. They were more tickled when the day before Christmas, K and Logan returned. Their parents were tickled to meet her, though shocked at her diminutive size. After looking at the tall supermodel like women of the institute, K seemed like a miniature, especially seeing as she stood several inches shorter than the girls, though her presence made up for it. The day before Christmas, Sam came to visit, excited to meet Zoe's parents. She should have stayed home.

To say that Mr. Schroeder was upset when he first learned that his precious baby girls were mutants was an understatement. The simple fact that he'd risen above that prejudice to embrace them and rally for their right to live was stupendous. However, every man has a breaking point, and his apparently was the fact that his precious first born was also into girls.

K and Jean were in the kitchen of the institute while Logan and Scott were in the garage tinkering on their respective projects. Mr. Schroeder stormed into the kitchen, his wife and daughter behind him trying to calm him as he fumed.

"Mr. Schroeder, what's wrong?" Jean asked as he spun to her, red faced.

"What kind of place is this? You let these little girls act like they're in love? You think it's alright for girls to date each other?" he raged. Mrs. Schroeder, as Jean scanned her quickly, was not anywhere near as angry as her husband, in fact, it seemed that this was simply the straw that broke the camel's back. Before Jean could defuse him, K stepped up.

"Now wait – you're telling me you're alright with her being genetically gifted, but you take issue that she is attracted to women? If you could accept the mutant thing so easily, why is this so hard to swallow?" K asked, her brow arched in a way that instantly tipped the sisters off that this had the possibility of being a huge problem.

"They can't help how they're _born._ This … this _lesbian thing_ is a choice." K looked as though she'd been spit on.

"You can't be serious." K said, her tone flat. "Do you really think, deep down, that this sweet little girl would _choose_ to be gay? Do you really think that after all the persecution and having to leave her family that loves her simply because she's a _mutant – which she can't help because she was born that way_ that she would CHOOSE more persecution? Are you _kidding me?" _ she snarled the last of it. Jean stared at him a moment, wondering if she'd need to hold K back. Jean's argument was so much more subtle, so much more refined – K …. well, she and Logan had a lot in common. But, as Jean scanned his thoughts, she was shocked to see her bull in the china shop approach had actually worked. He was thinking it over, backtracking mentally as it were.

"Well, when you put it like that … no. I don't suppose she would. BUT – she had to have seen it from someone here." He argued, itching for a place to put blame as Logan and Scott made their way upstairs. "For all I know, you and this Summers may have a thing going on." Jean's mouth dropped at his accusation as Scott and Logan stepped into the kitchen, both their ears perked up at what this man was accusing. Was he insinuating K and Scott, or was it Jean?

"We're married. To men." K said, incensed. Logan made to step forward, ready to grab her if necessary seeing as she had that 'someone's going to get stabbed look'. Jean closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment, Mr. Schroeder calming down subtly.

"Would you feel better if she was in a relationship with a boy and got pregnant?" Jean asked him.

"Well, no of course not." he replied "But that doesn't mean she should be doing things -"

"Zoe, have you and Sam slept together?" K asked, cutting him off.

"God, no. We haven't even kissed more than a peck on the cheek." Zoe said, mortified as K rolled her eyes back to Zoe's father, who backtracked quickly, apologizing, magically beginning to come to terms with Zoe's dating preference. Within a matter of minutes, the whole thing was a distant memory, and Mr. Schroeder found himself not wanting to know a thing about his daughters love lives. The little family made their way to the living room, saying their goodbyes as the parents prepared to leave, Mr. Schroeder apologizing profusely to both women. K and Jean stared off toward them, an identical look on their angry faces.

"Well, that was interesting." Scott said, finally stepping into the kitchen fully.

"Stupid jerk. Thinks being gay is a choice … who would choose to have people treat them differently?" K ranted, grumbling to herself as Zoe came back in with her sister.

"Thanks for that, K. I don't think he would have listened to me and you really nailed it." Zoe said, looking downtrodden.

"You're thanking _me_? Hell. You need to thank Jean over there – she softened up the mush between his ears. One more bullshit thing from his mouth and I'd have probably stabbed him." K growled out.

"He's just really old fashioned, K. It's not really his fault." Zoe defended.

"Bullshit. He's what? In his forties? I'm damn near a hundred girls. If I don't have an issue with it, he sure as shit has no excuse other than closed mindedness." K grumbled. "Listen, I'm glad you girls had a nice visit. Just let me know next time they're comin' around and I will be sure to be out of the way. I can't guarantee I won't hurt him next time." K had their father pegged for a pervert the moment he accused her and Jean of having a thing. There was literally nothing on the planet that could change her mind on it now. K and Logan left shortly after, the girls standing in the kitchen not sure what to do with themselves.

"So, did he have an accurate mental picture of it?" Scott said with a grin. The sisters stared at him open mouthed and Jean reached over and punched him in the arm.


	19. Wintertime

The sisters were anxious about how Christmas was going to flow. Their parents would be with them for the day, leaving the day after, and they desperately wanted K to at least not stab their father. Jean assured them that K would not be a problem – her focus would be solely on Logan. Zoe laughed to herself – of course it would. That was a whole different angle of uncomfortable – if their parents got too much of an eyeful of K and Logan's overly affectionate behavior. She could only hope to catch K before her parents showed up. She parked herself in the living room, sipping on coffee as she waited for the feral couple to appear. When they walked in, stomping off the snow from their boots, she smiled nervously, K waving to her a moment, and walking toward her when Quire dashed over from an adjacent room and grabbed K's arm, spinning her to him and kissing her. It was fast, and she shoved him away before Logan even really saw what had happened – his confirmation of the events being clear as she wiped her mouth off, staring at the boy as if he'd lost his mind. Logan's growl was clear from where Zoe stood as the boy darted off, grinning after a few words, then as K was again wiping her mouth, it was Logan's turn to be taken off guard as Rouge, of all people tapped him on the shoulder, giving him a similar treatment. All those in attendance went silent as they waited for Logan to drop to the ground, shocked when he simply stared at her in disbelief. When K left Logan's side to head to wash up, Zoe followed her, and asked her if she'd be nice to her parents.

"Zoe, I'm not going to start anything. I know you miss them, and I know how hard it is for people to accept what's different from themselves. Don't worry about it – just enjoy your time with them." K said, a tiny smile on her face. That was that. Of course, her and Logan's behavior was borderline acceptable, and when the girls parents saw the two of them practically acting like lovesick teenagers themselves, their mother was taken back.

"They're newlyweds, mom." Chloe said, their mother suddenly not only accepting it, but warming up to her husband as she remembered what it was like to be in their shoes. As it turned out, it wasn't K and Logan that had embarrassed them as far as public displays of affection. No, it was Remy and Rogue. There was no such thing as tact when it came to the two of them, and the girls had no reasonable excuse for their uncivilized behavior. When the time came for them to say goodbye and head home, the girls were upset, but less so than their parents.

"We'll be sure to write, mom. It's fine. This is the best school we've ever been to. Don't worry." Zoe said, hugging her tightly.

"We're so proud of both of you girls." she said. "Your father will come around to you and Sam. Just keep your grades up." The sisters said their goodbyes, their parents running into Logan and K on their way out.

"Mrs. Howlett – before I go, I wanted to be sure that I thanked you." Mr. Schroeder said. "From what my girls told me, they'd have been locked up a long time ago if it weren't for you. You didn't have to help them, but you put yourself on the line for their well being. I know you just want them to be safe and happy, and for that, I can't thank you enough." K looked down as he offered her his hand. The girls were relieved when she took it.

"They're good girls. You did a fine job raising them." K said evenly, Logan's hand at her waist as the two of them turned away and walked off.

…...

A few days after Christmas, the girls were shocked when they ran into K, hauling skis and ropes with her to the barn.

"What are you doing?" Zoe asked as K dropped half of what she was carrying.

"Damnit." she mumbled "Zoe, would you grab that ski please? I kind of need it." She did as she was asked, looking at it curiously.

"Isn't this a downhill ski?" she asked, her eyebrow raised as K cheerfully nodded. "But there isn't anywhere to ski around here is there?" K shrugged.

"I have no idea. Probably, but that's not what I'm up to." she replied. "I've been working on something since we got back from the honeymoon. Today I'm going to see if it works out the way I hoped it would."

"Does Logan know what you're up to?" Zoe asked, K laughing hysterically as she shook her head no.

…...

Zoe was laughing with K now as she took one of the biggest horses in the barn out, harnessed up like she'd be driving her, a strange looking rig on the harness as she broke through the somewhat shallow snow, pulling K on the skis.

…...

Chloe went into the garage with Kitty, the two of them planning to leave, Kitty greeting Logan who was standing in the open garage door, smoking a cigar and leaning on the door frame.

"Hi Logan." Kitty said cheerfully, stopping when he didn't' respond right away. "You OK?" she asked, walking up next to him. He glanced at her a fraction of a second his eyes barely leaving his wife as she gathered up some very long reins and adjusted her skis as the horse snorted, pawing at the snow.

"What. The hell. Is she up to now." he said quietly, blowing smoke, Kitty and Chloe now watching her with him. Zoe was clearly beside herself laughing as K suddenly urged the horse to move, dragging her along, almost looking like she was water skiing behind it, snow flying like a wake while the horse sped up. "Sonofabitch." Logan mumbled as she got the horse running, holding the harness with one hand and the reins with the other. She got the horse to do a few turns both ways before it spooked and took off, K's ski catching on a hidden mound of dirt and flipping her, the horse running a few lengths before stopping and turning toward her. By the time the horse stopped, Logan was already halfway to her, and Zoe was running for her too.

"You're gonna break your damn neck, woman." Logan grumbled, heat in his voice as he helped her upright, directing Zoe to take the ski off – the other one broken from the dirt mound.

"I'll heal." she replied, getting an angry glare from him.

"Not the point." he growled as he helped her to her feet. "What the hell were you doing anyhow?"

"Ski-jorring. Swedish version. I need a partner for the American version – HEY. You wanna help me?" K asked with a grin.

"Dragging you behind a horse? No. No I don't." he replied.

"Aw, come on. Please? I've never been able to get anyone to help me with this."

"Yeah, there's a reason for it. It's crazy." She looked crestfallen.

"Oh come on. I do all the training you want me to. Help me with this. All you have to do is ride and mind the rope."

The two of them went back and forth until Chloe finally bit her lip and jumped in.

"I'll ride for you." she offered, Logan giving her a dirty look.

"Can't do it now, anyhow. Ski's broke." Kitty added. K looked at the skis, nodding.

"You're right. I'll have to find more." K replied. The girls were dying to see what she was up to, but it seemed that their luck wasn't going to hold. New Years brought them two blizzards on top of each other, leaving the snow at the institute too deep and drifted for K to continue with her experiment.

"Next winter, I suppose." K said wistfully one day, rubbing the bridge of her nose as she stared out the window.

The girls took it as a challenge to find her some skis, hoping that the mid winter thaw would melt enough snow that she'd be able to give it another shot. It was probably just as well that they simply couldn't find any. They were bending over backwards in combat class to keep Logan from snarling at them. He'd been in a foul mood more often than not lately, the only time he was reasonable was when they'd spot him and his wife, half tangled up together. It was something that eventually, they both quit doing around everyone for the most part, disappearing into their bungalow instead, which meant if you didn't catch one of them just before or after class, they would be unreachable.

Jubilee came in one day, pale and wide eyed.

"Have either of you talked to K lately?" Jubes asked after pulling the girls into her room.

"No, she's been hiding away with Logan every spare second. Why?" Zoe answered.

"I think there's something up. She fell off her horse today." Jubes replied. The two girls stared at each other a moment, their mouths dropping at the same time.

"But she doesn't fall."

"I know."

"Why would she fall?" Chloe asked.

"Rumor mill is going already." Jubes replied. The girls worried. Chloe was convinced already that she was pregnant. She'd been saying it for months – no one could have that much sex and not have something to show for it sooner or later. Zoe shook her head.

"No, she's been busting her ass in training."

"Yeah, _training._" Chloe replied, rolling her eyes. They ran through the rumors, discussing the likelihood of each, Chloe pulling Jubes and Zoe to her line of thinking with very little effort simply by countering all of their arguments with 'What have they been doing in all their spare time? Have you seen the way they look at each other?' The whole school was abuzz the next morning when the pair made their way up for coffee. No one said a word while Logan was around, and were very hushed when they thought K couldn't hear them. Mr. Summers had to give half the class detention when they couldn't focus on math. Sam was worried and voiced her concerns with the sisters over lunch.

"If she's pregnant, who's going to teach riding class?" Sam asked. "She'll have to quit, won't she?" Jubilee laughed at her assumption.

"Yeah right. Wolvie'll be lucky if she quits riding horses bareback at full speed." Jubes snorted. "The bigger problem is what _he's_ going to do. He's not much fun when he's worried." The sisters paled. So far, this was the first time in a long time that Jubes had admitted that Logan was ever anything but delightful. How bad could it get if she'd admit he wasn't fun? By the time riding class was ready to start, the student body had half the staff wondering alongside them what was up, everyone going silent when K passed them by, their stares following her. The sisters could see K was getting irritated. How she approached them at the lesson though, was inspired. Instead of getting angry, she let them get it out of their system before squashing the rumors and turning their attention back to the task at hand. Jubilee was irritated though when the girls talked to her after class.

"Good news, Jubes – she's not pregnant." Zoe said as Jubes glared at her.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean she won't be. He wants kids." she informed them.

…...

The girls had all gotten over it until a couple weeks later when the couple's demo in combat class … changed. The two of them went into autopilot during their demo, their moves melting into each other as they shredded and nearly danced between their holographic opponents. When class cleared, the sisters were spooked as the two didn't meet in the center of class as they always did for a tender kiss, instead, both of them staring at each other as if they'd seen a ghost, clasping hands and making their way out of the mansion, eyes locked. Zoe didn't have to guess as to where they were headed.

…...

Not long afterward, the girls ran into K in the kitchen, stunned when they put the puzzle pieces together, realizing with Jubilee's help that the couple were now bonded. The term 'sadist' was suddenly removed from their vocabulary as they'd applied it to Logan, a fresh respect for the gruff man in light of his attachment to K. They spent their spare time researching feral bonds, shocked at how little was written, all of it theoretical. Their research was interrupted however, when Mrs. Summers posted up a notice that there would be a dance on Valentines. It appeared as though M's pestering had finally been fruitful. She'd argued that there needed to be formal functions since she'd arrived, according to Jubilee. It was a particular irritation for Jubilee, who insisted it was simply because she wanted to show off how 'mature' she was. Zoe rushed to find Sam, who was coming out of math class, grumbling about Mr. Drake's assignment. Six pages of calculus due tomorrow. Ugh.

"Hey, there's going to be a dance on Valentines … do you want to go?" Zoe said, grinning broadly. Sam looked downtrodden as she looked at her.

"Um, yeah, but I have to make sure I can go." Sam replied. Her parents had been pushing her to go back to public school, where she'd have opportunities for occasions just like this. The timing of it might just work out well.

The next day, she was tickled to let her girlfriend know that she could go, her mother already having taken her out dress shopping for the occasion. It was all the girls of the school could talk about leading up to the dance. Most of the girls in the student body were following M's lead on the styles they'd be wearing, only Jubilee, the sisters and Sam going their own route and choosing for their own individual styles. It was incredibly apparent when the night finally came and the bulk of the student body were all wearing variations of the same dress – one shouldered, varying lengths and colors. The truth was, M was more irritated when Jubilee showed up in a short, classy sapphire blue number that accented her eyes beautifully. She was hands down the stand out of the class. M's jealousy was palpable, all the more noticeable since Jubes hadn't gone with a date or any intention other than to just have fun. The four girls found a table to themselves as the music got underway, the teachers filing in slowly. It didn't take long for the party to get underway, and several of the boys made their way to the 'rebels' table, asking Chloe to dance while Sam and Zoe twirled the night away giggling to themselves. Jubilee was alone now, M smirking at her when she thought no one was looking. Her focus was interrupted when no other than Bobby Drake, her most frequent accomplice in crime made his way to Jubes.

"C'mon, Jubie. Quit staring daggers at that witch and dance with me." he said with a grin. She couldn't help but laugh at him as they got up to dance, M and Emmett making their way on the dance floor, M looking down her nose at them as they spun, laughing. Bobby narrowed his eyes and shot a tiny patch of ice under M's feet, making her break a heel, nearly swearing as she barely caught herself in Emmett's arms. Jubes couldn't help but snicker, knowing that he'd done it for her.

"Good one, Popsicle. Real subtle." Jubes said with a smirk.

"Yeah, well, subtly is for punks. Or that's what Wolvie told me once." he replied, laughing as he spun her grandly, laughing with her as they made a point to exaggerate their dance. When she was breathless from laughing he led her back to her table, telling her he'd be back with a wink. If Chloe didn't know better, she'd think their teacher was flirting with her.

She didn't have much time to ponder it when Angelo made his way back to the table, again asking Chloe on the floor, her seat vacated by a lovely woman in red that Chloe didn't recognize until she'd made a few rotations on the dance floor. The night continued on, the teachers making a point to do their finest job on the dance floor most of the time, Ms. Pryde putting everyone to shame until Logan and K made their way to the floor for a tango that was so steamy the bulk of the crowd simply went silent until they finished. They disappeared soon after, Chloe overhearing Ms. Pryde and Mrs. Summers discussing asking K and Logan to assist in a dance class if there was interest enough. Zoe had to laugh at that one.

"Right. That'll be the day. They'll never go for it." she said, waving the idea off. Not long after, when the four girls were joking around, Angelo and Jono hanging around joking with them, Emmett shyly made his way to their table, clearing his throat as he stepped up behind Jubilee.

"Hey Jubes. Um, would you please dance with me?" he asked as the table fell silent. They stared at her a moment, open mouthed until she looked toward M's table, finding her resolutely ignoring them.

"Sure. Let's go." she said with a shy smile, Emmett now grinning broadly. He didn't let her off the floor until Mrs. Summers told them it was time to break it up, when the two of them laughing locked eyes suddenly, all their small talk spent, the nervous giggles falling silent as he leaned in slowly and kissed her in the middle of the dance floor. It wasn't that they were the only ones on the floor doing so. They were however, the only ones that didn't come in together doing so. M was furious.

…...


	20. A Little Teenage Drama

Bear with me, trying to finish this sucker to the end of Natural Feral Behaviors. Thanks for your review, KJAX - you do give the best reviews ... hope you enjoy some of the little side stories. I may or may not expand on these girls in the future. And off we go.

* * *

Chloe was dying to corner Jubilee. Rumors were already flying about the little firecracker and Emmett. She thought they were bull until she walked by Emmett and M, who were absolutely avoiding each other – M glaring at him from across the room, arms crossed and furious. She found Jubes in the kitchen, a distant look on her face. She got just a second to say hello to K as she rinsed her mug out, winking at her as she headed out the door.

"Jubes – what happened last night?" Chloe asked, taking a seat next to her friend.

"He kissed me."

"Yeah, I saw that. What does it mean?"

"I have no idea. Maybe that he doesn't think I'm a total goon? Doesn't matter. It was a great night." Jubes replied. The two of them chatted about other parts of the dance, watching one X-man after another pass through the kitchen, all of them snatching up coffee on their way down to the danger room.

"What's up with them?" Zoe asked as Remy casually made his way through, grinning at them as he passed them by.

"Oh, Scott was talking about having a couple team exercises. He only asked guys though, so the ladies are planning their own. Later. Maybe we can get in on it too." she replied. Chloe asked Ms. Munroe if they could join, and was disappointed to find that it was a closed session.

"Normally you'd be welcome to sit in the booth, but the men will have it packed in there. Maybe next time, girls." she replied, the three of them only slightly let down as they decided to head to the barn to brush out horses. At least K would appreciate their assistance. They were surprised to find that she wasn't there, though the animals were fed. They decided to do what they came for anyhow, pulling out one at a time as the three of them teamed up on the horse, quickly brushing and grooming it before moving on to the next, all the while discussing what had happened the night previous, Zoe in the opinion that now was the time to strike.

"You should ask him out. You two would be a much better couple than he and M. She's just such an uptight pain in the"

"What. I'm an uptight pain in the what?" M spit out, the three girls not expecting to see her anywhere near the barn. Not since she had K dress her down for bad form during a dressage day.

"Sit right, M. Your back is hollow, your stirrups too short and you look like you're waiting for your picture to be taken rather than paying attention to the task at hand. Elbows IN." she's barked out, very Wolvie-esque in her approach when someone refused to listen to her the first two times she'd tell them to correct their form. M had dropped riding class two weeks later when the two of them got into an argument again over M's style. She hadn't set foot in the barn since, so there was zero chance she had found her way there to chat with K.

"Ass. You're a pain in the ass." Zoe said calmly. M looked shaken. Her normally calm, aloof expression tainted with the strain of fury as her eyebrows tried to drift together, her mouth pursed.

"Such vulgarity. I'm not surprised. Look a the classes the three of you do best in – all the hooligans and animals this place takes pity on." she snarled. Jubilee was fit to be tied. Forget her powers, she wanted to tear her weave off her head.

"You better hope K doesn't hear you." Zoe said.

"You better hope Wolvie doesn't hear you." Jubilee added.

"Please. I'm not afraid of them. Besides, they can't _do_ anything to me." M said coolly. "I just came down here to warn you to stay away from Emmett. He may have taken pity on you last night, but he's still with me." Jubilee rolled her eyes as the sisters fumed. M simply turned tail and started to walk away.

"Yeah, whatever. Hey, M." Jubilee called out as M reached the door to the barn, "If he's with you, why was he kissing me? Seems like maybe he's not so sure who he'd rather be with." Her calm facade falling entirely as her face distorted in rage. She huffed, her hands fisted at her sides as she stomped back up to the mansion, Jubilee smirking at her smugly as she went.

…...

Ultimately, it did her no good. Emmett was cowed. No one knew why he stuck with M, other than the fact that she was pretty, and because of it, Jubilee abandoned her crush on him, at least temporarily, telling herself that if all he was interested in was a pretty face, she didn't have the time. It was clear though to everyone else that he did indeed have feelings for her. In K's class, she slipped off a horse while they were riding bareback in the arena. She'd been doing well until the horse sidestepped suddenly in an attempt to avoid a rather large mud puddle, and Jubilee not being prepared for it, went right over sideways into it. She was irritated when she sat up, finding the horse had stopped cold as soon as she fell. She glared at her mount and picked up a wad of mud, chucking it at the horse's feet in retaliation for dumping her in the puddle, laughing while she did so. Emmett rushed over, offering to take care of her horse so Jubes could go up to the house to change, shocked when Jubes simply stood up in the mud, wiped the dirt off her face and asked K for a towel. He was blown away when she wiped herself off and asked for a leg up. Had that been M, there would likely have been a meltdown of epic proportions. Yes, he was with M, but he didn't know for how long. The perfect princess routine was wearing on him.

…...

The friendship that Jubes had with the sisters backfired on them in the mean time. M's flock of followers had begun to pay more attention to Jubilee and the sisters, earning them all a target on their backs from M. She'd taken to sniping at them before their shared classes, sitting nearby them and hissing rude comments toward them. It was just before combat class when she'd started up again, this time focusing on Zoe, making insinuations that the only reason she liked girls was because she couldn't get a guy's attention. She was livid when halfway through class she projected to Zoe that in light of how much more relaxed Logan was lately, maybe she should ask K for pointers on how she does whatever it is she does for him. Zoe lost it, blasting her and her closest cronies into the wall, snarling. Logan simply turned his head to the source of the commotion, his eyes glancing between M and Zoe, putting two and two together much quicker than anyone would have gathered.

"M, you know no telepathy in class. Whatever you did to goad her, you got running for the next two weeks for it. Be ready at five. Zoe, don't know what she did, but you'll be joinin' us." Both girls looked at him open mouthed and angry as he helped some of the students up that had been launched into the wall, assessing them for injury before dismissing class early and rounding up the students that needed to see Hank. The injustice of it was burning Zoe. If he'd known what she'd said – or thought – or projected or whatever. UGH. He'd just be punishing M.

"Don't bet on it." Jubes told her. "You made the mistake of doing it in class. Had you done it outside of class, he'd let it slide." The rest of their day continued on in a similar miserable thread, stupidity seemed to follow them from one class to the next. By the time K's class was about to start, the girls were not very optimistic. It seemed that most of the class was having a hard day too. K caught the general mood of the group and dropped the lesson for the day, instead having them focus on some fun stuff, all games, and by the end of class they were all feeling a lot better, everyone smiling from the silliness that had gone down. The good mood was crushed though when Dr. McCoy appeared. Of all the teachers they'd seen in the riding class, he was dead last the one they expected.

"Maybe he's got an experiment going on." Zoe offered. Her sister looked worried, determined to stick around until K came through, cursing Paige when she ran back to take K's horse in for her. They stuck around the barn as long as they could, finally giving up when it started to rain and K still hadn't shown, the spring showers turning on and off a few minutes at a time.

"Come on, Chlo. We need to get up to the house before it really starts to rain. We can catch her later." Zoe told her.

"Yeah right. Maybe if we're lucky before class." Chloe replied. The two ferals were still hard as hell to nail down. They weren't surprised the next day when they only saw her for a moment, sitting in the kitchen with a glass of water, watching the rain fall outside.

"Hey – you busy?" Chloe asked. K slowly turned toward her, letting out a deep breath.

"Nope." she replied. Chloe was sure she looked pale.

"Mind if I join you?" she tried, K just shrugged and gestured to take a seat. The two of them sat in silence as the next class let out, students swarming around them, many of them saying hello, and K smiling or nodding in return to them.

"Alright, I'll see you later, right?" Chloe asked to K's silent nod. "We're going shopping soon, right?"

"Yeah, sure. Name the day." K replied. Finally Chloe smiled. Maybe it was just an off day from the weather. The news was forecasting heavy storms later, after all. She put it out of her mind as she went to her last class for the day, passing a serious looking Logan in the hall way, she turned to see him lean down to kiss her before she had to duck into Ms. Munroe's class, where she ended up having her decent buzz for the day ruined as the class was assigned to get through an entire book and write a report for it by Monday. Ugh. They were up reading late that night in the living room when all these people started parading through the mansion, all headed downstairs. They all but quit their work all together as the parade of super humans continued. Jubilee had even quit working to watch who was there.

"Well this can't be good." she said quietly as several of Magnetos' closest guard marched past them on the way to this mysterious gathering downstairs. The hall was silent for a good fifteen minutes before K and Logan zipped down the hall, Logan looking particularly irritated.

"Yeah, really not good." Jubilee amended. "Wish I could sneak down there."

"Why don't you?" Chloe asked.

"Right. Jean already warned me not to poke my nose where it doesn't belong. I don't want to spend the next month doing laundry." She replied. Within half an hour, K stomped out, red faced with Mr. Summers maybe five minutes behind her, his mouth set. Not long behind him, Logan came out, clearly pissed off, followed a few minutes later by Heather Hudson.

"Seriously – what the hell is going on?" Zoe said, staring wide eyed, wondering who would be next to come through. Maybe another twenty minutes went by when all those that had been downstairs began to trickle back up, all of them mumbling quietly to each other. Apparently they'd been told to keep ti down, and not one of them said anything near to the girls. Chloe was stunned when Peter from the wedding came and sat across from them on the couch, leaning forward to pick up Chloe's book from the coffee table.

"Whatcha reading?" he asked, flipping through the book.

"_Heart of Darkness._" Chloe replied. He raised his eyebrows and dropped the book, leaning back in his seat.

"Yech. I always hated that one." he replied.

"Um, no offense, but what are you doing here with all these … people?" Chloe asked. Jubilee laughed out loud.

"That's the funniest thing you've said in weeks, Chlo!" Jubilee snorted. "Don't you know who he is?"

"Jubes! Shut up right now or I'll put those pictures up that I took last summer." Peter warned. Jubilee turned bright red and crossed her arms.

"Wait'll I tell Wolvie." she grumbled.

"Yeah, he's kind of pissed off already. Don't think he'll care much about you being embarrassed right now." he replied.

"Yeah? Whose the loser that got him irked?" Jubes asked. Pete just shook his head.

"Apparently, his wife." The girls stared at each other, wracking their brains trying to figure out what K could have done to make him angry. They had nothing. Particularly when the two of them returned, K looking rushed as she closed her eyes in the hallway, the girls instantly recognizing her little subconscious move as she scented someone or something out, dashing down the hall to the Professor's study while Logan got patted on the back and his hand shook by half the men in the room. What. The. Hell. Before they could figure much out, Mr. Summers came over to them in full uniform.

"You girls need to get to bed. We need you to be secured in your rooms. Full lock down tonight." he informed them as they quickly gathered their things, Chloe waving goodbye to Peter, deciding she was going to get out of Jubilee who this guy was finally. She started in as soon as they hit the stairs.

"No, I can't tell you. Superhero code." Jubilee replied stiffly. "I shouldn't even know."

"Please, come on Jubes, who is he?" Chloe begged as Jubilee rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"I can't tell you!" she said, exasperated. "But," she continued, one finger on her chin, "If you guess right I might be forced to wink or something. I just can't outright tell you." Chloe grinned, running through every superhero she though could be it, Jubilee not giving her a clue one as to who it was, laughing outright at some of her guesses.

"Oh my god. No. Guardian is Heather's husband. He's like way taller and beefier than Peter. And, you know – no accent." Jubilee replied, shaking her head. This girl was so far off. "Just give up, you're not going to get it." Chloe crossed her arms. Who was she forgetting? She had to be forgetting someone.

…...

Late the next day, the planes returned, though no staff was around, all of them likely in the lower levels, debriefing, writing reports, or spending time in the med lab. Those that had been up and around were quiet, looking as if nothing was amiss, except for the rumors flying that K and Logan hadn't spoken on the flight back. Was this the end of the little couple? God, the sisters sure hoped it wasn't. Jubilee dismissed the idea.

"He's not going to let her go over one argument." she said dismissively. They ignored the rumors as best they could – harder to do when it was adults spreading them – and finished their assignment for Ms. Munroe. They were the first done, but they'd already worked harder than the rest of the class, nose to the grindstone and all that. They went to bed late, got up late, and still no one had seen the little ferals. Jubilee started to get nervous on what it could mean as lunch time neared. Finally, when everyone was starting to clear out, they appeared, Logan holding her closely to him until they got near the table and K took a seat near Jubilee, looking tired. They were all stunned when K snatched up his beer.

"Why don't you just have one too?" Jubilee asked, thinking that K had lost her mind until she saw her jaw tighten and she shot him a glare. Oh shit. The argument wasn't over.

"Well, Go on. Ya told everyone else." K snarled at him. He smirked in response, a smile growing as he tipped his head a little before reaching back across the table and snatching it back, tossing it to Bobby with a grin.

"Fine. I'll try it your way. At least in front of ya. If I head out with the boys, I'm not makin' any promises." he said his eyebrow cocked and his expression teasing as she narrowed her eyes at him, both hands flat on the table as she leaned toward him.

"Fair enough. But in that same spirit, I won't go on any missions with you, but if something comes up and you're not around – I'm not making any promises." she finished with a growl, Logan's playful expression dropping as he glared at her in return while she leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. What the hell were they missing? Before she could open her mouth to question them, K took a quick breath and turned her head to her. "You're going to be a big sister." Jube's mouth dropped, and she jumped up, practically flying to Logan, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing the hell out of him, the sisters shocked when he dropped the growl and hugged her back, enjoying her happy reaction until she dropped him like a hot rock and wrapped herself around a half stunned K, who looked resigned as she returned the hug. Clearly, K wasn't entirely ready for this. The sisters decided to make an effort to not make a big deal out of this. It was easy to see she wasn't comfortable with so many people making a big deal of her 'delicate state' as Dr. McCoy had put it. Delicate. Yeah, that was not a word associated with K. Not by anyone that knew her. When the smoke had cleared, and they got a chance to corner her away from Logan they had to ask.

"Are you going to keep teaching?" Zoe asked, Sams' prediction of K quitting and just going off to be Logan's little wife haunting her.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I? I'm pregnant, not debilitated." she replied shortly. Apparently this was a far too common question for her. They decided to let it go, figuring that Logan would be on her ass enough for everyone.


	21. The Tiny Feral arrives

Classes did indeed continue as usual. At first though, the girls noticed that one of the staff members was always out on the patio, clearly watching their progress as K's class rode. When the girls heard from Jubilee that they were having a girl, all hell broke loose. The general consensus was that a little girl was the best possible scenario for them, particularly with Logan's reputation to mentor young women. It was perhaps this revelation that caused the watching staff members to move closer to the action, now parking themselves in the bleachers in the arena or leaning on the fence as they rode, K ignoring them for the most part, but visibly tensing up a bit when they got too intrusive. When she switched to English, they got very nosy, Sam watching her warily as she rode, like she was just waiting for K to fall.

"Shouldn't you like, let someone else take over soon?" Sam asked her one day before the lesson started. K stiffened visibly before she turned to face the girls.

"Why? My balance is fine. If I get wobbly, then yes, but until then – forget it." she replied shortly. It was that much worse when Ms. Pryde felt she needed to say pretty much the same thing at the end of that class, the two of them looking like they were getting dangerously close to a serious disagreement. The tone in K's voice and the look on her face said clearly that she wasn't going to listen to anything that the rest of the staff tried to shove down her throat.

"Well, at least it wasn't Logan down here. She would get mad if that happens." Zoe said to Sam as they left. No one was surprised when the rumor mill started the next day – apparently Logan had stepped into her class, and K had all but disappeared from view, clearly frustrated with her situation. She was hiding in their little bungalow a few days after the riding exam was finished when the sisters went to check on her. She let them in, looking downtrodden as they entered the boat house, her hair unbrushed and Logan's flannel hanging from her shoulders loose and unbuttoned over the tank top she wore. As soon as the girls came in, she pulled the shirt around herself, apparently uncomfortable with her figure while she made her way to the couch to sit with them, hairbrush in hand. She didn't make herself follow any schedule as she stewed, obviously getting depressed. Chloe offered to braid her hair for her, and K politely declined, insisting she really needed to wash it first. The day before she'd been busted out by Dr. McCoy for being too dehydrated. It wasn't that long ago that she'd looked adorable with her little bump, but now she was beginning to look sickly, and though they'd never admit it, Logan had actually sent the girls to check on her after her little stint in the med lab the day before. He was worried sick about her, though she sent him off more often than not when he hovered too much, and Jubilee and Kitty were met with suspicion on K's part.

"You look really cute today, K." Zoe tried. K's eyes locked on her in an instant as she appraised the girls.

"I look like a heroin addict." K replied. "And I can't do a damn thing about it." she said before wrinkling up her nose at them. "You know better than to lie to me." Zoe felt badly when K busted her. "Besides, I do own a mirror. I know I look like hell."

"Is there anything you'd like us to do for you?" Chloe asked sheepishly. K smiled a little, and shook her head.

"No. I think I'm just stuck for now. Can't do much about anything. Do yourselves a favor and don't ever have sex." she said with a flash in her eyes. Chloe couldn't help but smile at her.

"Are you saying this is all his fault?" Chloe said with a smirk. K shook her head.

"No, we're both equally stupid." she replied. They joked with her a little while longer, deciding to leave when Logan came in a few hours later.

"Girls." he said, watching them carefully for some reaction from them while K's back was turned.

"I know you sent them to check on me, Logan. You can relax. I'm not going anywhere." she said, both girls' mouths dropping. They hadn't told her he'd sent them. When Logan looked at the girls they both shook their heads as K spoke up again. "They didn't tell me, but I could smell you had been near them. No combat class for them today so …. two and two. This super hyper obnoxious sense of smell is wearing." He let a breath out as he sat down next to her after kissing her on the forehead.

"You wanna take a ride with me?" he asked, K perking up a bit at the idea.

"I thought I was on whale watch until I pop." she replied, relaxing ever so slightly when he slid his hand across her stomach while he leaned into her to kiss her.

"Funny. I'm taking you to my cabin. You need to get into the woods before you snap." he told her, her expression changing as she nodded minutely. "Girls, you can keep up on the chores in the barn, right?" They agreed quickly to anything if it would get her out of her funk.

…...

The couple left a few days later, the girls leisurely spending most of their time in the barn. They were tickled when a few days before school started Mrs. Summers came in informing them that Sams' parents were going to be in later today to see what the dorms looked like.

"So she's going to be full time?" Zoe asked excitedly.

"It's a strong possibility." she answered. "I'd like to have you stay back in the wings until I know what they think." The sisters smiled and started cleaning up the barn more thoroughly, moving on to clean all the saddles in the barn. If Sam possibly coming to stay at the institute wasn't great news on it's own, Mrs. Summers also told them that Logan and K should be back later tonight too. They'd been gone for almost a month, though Jubilee said a lot of it was travel time. They couldn't wait to see her again, anxious as to how big she'd gotten in the interim. When they saw her, they were shocked. Her color was back, her eyes not so hollow looking and if she got much bigger, K swore she'd need a wheelbarrow to move. What they didn't expect was how irritated she got when they would tell her she was adorable. K had never liked that term in reference to women, though it was one thrown at her frequently, she believed because she was so short.

"Stop it. I'm not adorable. Or cute. Or any other dumbass adjective you can concoct for me. I'm huge, swollen and damnit if this stupid belly doesn't hurt." she griped. Jubilee shook her head at her. K's sense of humor was nearly non existent, and to make it more interesting, she refused help from everyone when they offered it. Although Chloe hated to think of her friend in such a manner, she wondered if K was looking for a way out so she could have the baby alone somewhere far removed from the medical staff and other residents of the mansion. She couldn't have hit it more on the head if she'd tried.

Classes began and the sisters found their schedule to be much tougher than the year before. They were surprised when K stepped into Logan's history class one random day, taking over though most of the class seemed transfixed on her pregnancy. She handled their mundane questions with grace, then quickly retreated back to the boat house. Late that evening, they were surprised when they ran into Logan in the kitchen, reading a newspaper.

"Um. Shouldn't you be heading back to the boat house?" Jubilee asked.

"No. We're back in the house until baby gets here." he replied, not dropping the paper until Jubilee grabbed it, shoving it down so she could see his face.

"You're kidding, right?" Logan shook his head.

"Back in my room for now. Won't be long." he replied. The girls were suddenly nervous. That had to mean that something had happened to K if she needed to be nearby.

The girls hovered around the teacher's wing, hoping to catch a glimpse of her, not getting any luck until Mr. Summers went to see her and ended up carrying her out of the room, nearly running down the hall with her, K half heartedly clutching to him, pain clearly on her face as the sisters rushed ahead of them to get the elevator for them, Mr. Summers nodding his thanks as he let her feet touch the ground, holding on to her, afraid she'd fall over.

"Where's Logan?" Zoe asked after the doors closed. Jubilee shook her head.

"On a mission. He's gonna be pissed off if he misses this." she said seriously. The girls began watching for the blackbird, sure that Mr. Summers would have called him off the mission for K's sake. They didn't have long to wait. Serendipity, or luck – one of the two, had his return not half an hour after K was brought to the med lab. They went upstairs to do their homework, sure that K wouldn't want them to be present while she was in labor, but none of them could concentrate, too worried for their friends. Jubilee was biting her nails and pacing in the living room when Scott came up a few hours later with a huge grin on his face. Jubilee ran to him, bouncing on her toes when he simply gave her a hug.

"She's beautiful, Jubes. Logan says you can visit later. K's already healed up. They'll be heading back to the boat house soon." Mr. Summers said, Jubilee grinning at the news.

"How's Wolvie?" she asked. Scott just grinned.

"How would you expect? He's over the moon." he replied, letting her go finally to go tell the good news to his wife. Before they could decide what to do, the new little family appeared, working their way to the boat house. The halls were blessedly empty as Logan carried the little one, K following him by a few paces until Jubilee nervously stepped into the door way as they approached. The teenagers stepped forward as K nodded to Logan, who shifted the tiny bundle in his arms for them to see. They were charmed. It was Jubilee however that noticed K. She looked tired and skinny, her jeans hung loosely about her hips, her collar bone overly evident and her shirt too tight across her breasts. She thought if she were taller, she'd fit right in with Betsy's old modeling friends.

"We'll see you guys in a few days, alright?" Jubilee offered before kissing Logan on the cheek, K looping her hand into the crook of his arm while they made their way home, the teens watching them as they went.

"He's going to need help getting her back to herself." Zoe said as the pair disappeared in the little stand of trees that hid the boat house from view. They didn't get to see much of her, most of her time was being spent in the boat house with her little family. That's where Logan was whenever it wasn't necessary for him to be elsewhere. Mr. Summers tried to use Logan as punishment for Emmett when he talked back in his class one day only for Logan to look at him as if he was crazy and send him off.

"I haven't got time for that shit. Tell Summers he can run his own damned detentions." Logan growled after combat, rushing off to be near K and their daughter, obviously happy with his family.

It wasn't long before the party for Abbey was upon them. All the girls at the institute happily helped Mrs. Summers to decorate and prepare. Chloe was on the look out for Peter, hoping to see him again and pick his brain in an attempt to figure out who he was in the super hero world. She didn't have long to wait. It seemed that Peter was one of those that had a tendency to be early. He greeted her warmly until she asked him straight out who he was.

"Come on, Chloe, I can't tell. My identity is secret for a reason." he said uneasily. She glared at him, crossing her arms.

"Who would I tell anyhow? I have no friends outside of these walls anymore – except for you, and I _can_ keep a secret." she replied. "Please?" he smiled in spite of himself. There was really only a few years difference between them.

"Maybe after we've spent some more time together, and you get an alias of your own." he replied finally. Chloe thought it over, finally nodding slyly.

"Yeah, alright. I suppose that's fair." she replied as Kitty walked into the center of a gathering of Avengers with Logan's little girl in her arms. Peter had to sneak a peak as Kitty grinned at him.

"Wanna meet my baby sister, webs?" she said with a grin. Peter paled.

"Nice, Kitty. Very nice." he said with a clear note of irritation. "I'm going to get you back." Kitty looked at him as innocently.

"What? I'm just trying to show you my baby sis. Isn't she cute?" she said sweetly as Peter finally did reach up and move the blanket away from the little one's face.

"Are you sure she's Logan's? I mean, she's awfully cute." he said, Chloe giggling to herself. Maybe she didn't catch the 'webs' comment after all.

"Yeah. Real sure." Kitty replied, gingerly handing the baby to Peter, through his protests until he was holding her.

"Oh man. Kitty, take her back. I don't want Wolvie seeing me holding his baby." he said nervously as Kitty did as he asked. "God, I feel dirty even saying that. The implications …. eew."

"Like he won't smell you on her." she teased, his face going pale as she left with the little one.

"Oh man. I am in so much trouble." he said sadly.

"Out of webbing, Spidey?" Chloe teased, Peter shaking his head with a grin.

"I was hoping you'd have missed that." he said quietly, pulling her away from the crowd. "Please, don't tell anyone – and I mean _anyone._ Not even all the Avengers know who I am." he pleaded, Chloe smiling and promising to never tell a soul. They spent the rest of the party together, even long after the little family left, Peter only getting time enough to congratulate K on her poor life choice of having a child with Logan. She rolled her eyes and swatted at him for his snarky commentary.

"Like I haven't heard that before." she said with a growl before allowing him to sneak a hug on her way out. The crowd started to dwindle and the two of them were on the patio looking at the stars talking quantum mechanics when Stark made his way outside, drink in hand.

"You ready to go, Parker?" he asked, Pete nodding and standing.

"My ride." he explained, promising to email her as they left. They hadn't been gone long when Jubilee busted her out on the steps.

"Well, well, well. Some taste ya got there. Parker? Really?" Jubes said with a grin. "Aim high, my friend!" Chloe laughed it off as they climbed the steps. He was just a friend, after all. No interest there, right?


	22. Winter and Cabin Fever

The sisters were tickled when they made it to riding class. Ms. Pryde and Ms. Kinney had been teaching in K's place, but today when they got to class, they were greeted with the long lost sight of K's long braid dangling right down the middle of her back. She barely glanced over her shoulder with an easy 'hi girls' as if she'd been there in the barn the whole time. Chloe rushed over and hugged her, K laughing at her as she did. Until quite recently, they'd just been treading water, repeating what they had already learned and the two subs taking them out on trail rides before the snow really flew. Today, K was back in her relaxed style.

"What are we doing today? Games? Obstacles? Anything but circles, please." Zoe said with a hopeful look on her face. K smiled as she gathered up a rope, her eyes on the task at hand.

"No. No circles. Even Kitty and Laura were getting bored with that." K replied. "No, we're going to do bareback games. Test your balance." And so began a mostly tack free lesson day, everyone but K sliding around as they nervously tried to keep themselves centered on their horses.

"You guys are too tense. Come on. What the hell've you been doing while I've been out?" K asked, gathering them up as she pulled out a little wad of cash, counting it up. "You ever hear of 'ride a buck'?" she asked, looking around at their blank faces. "OK. It's easy. Here." she pulled out a dollar bill and stuck it partway under her thigh. "The point is to not drop the buck." she explained as she put more under her leg all the way down to her knees on both legs before starting the horse up and riding off doing a few circles at a walk. "Once you get it down, you speed up." she explained, urging the horse to trot, then after a few circles to a canter too, finally running it then having it slide to a stop along the wall. "Count your money when you're done. You should have what you started out with." She explained, doling out ten dollars in ones to everyone in attendance. "If you can keep from dropping _any_, you get to keep your wad." she said laughing to herself. It wasn't a ton of money, but how often do teachers hand out cash? It was hilarious. Neither sister cared in the least by the end of the lesson when they'd both dropped half their cash. No one, in fact, had managed to keep all their cash from the ride a buck, but just before she dismissed them, she asked them to follow the leader again, laughing when the class suddenly realized that they'd relaxed and no one was slipping or sliding anymore. The girls gladly took K's horse up for her, just happy to have their teacher back.

They had hoped that Logan would lighten up in his classes, but honestly, they would have been better off hoping that Mr. Summers would grow a better sense of humor. When Christmas rolled around, they had both decided on what they needed to do for K, making her laugh out loud when they presented her with a very sturdy looking pair of downhill skis.

"Oh, this is great! The snow's perfect!" she said, grinning as she turned to her husband. "Oh please, cowboy … come on. I have the rig, I just need you to run the horse in a straight line. Come on." He shook his head as she slid her arms around his waist. "_Please._ I'll make it up to you." she said as sweetly as she was able. Logan's resolve wore out fast as he let out a sigh and nodded, prompting K to kiss the sense out of him. "Great! Jean? Can you watch Abbey for a little bit?"

"What, you wanna do it now?" Logan asked, not expecting her to jump at it so fast.

"Yeah. Might get a blizzard tonight. Need to do this NOW." K replied, turning to the girls "Come on, kids … we may be able to work this into next year's lessons."

"If this is something you're thinking of for the students, I'd like to watch." Charles said suddenly. K happily agreed, telling him to just watch out the window. The four of them rushed down to the barn, the girls pulling the horse K told them to while Logan grabbed the saddle he liked. K was gathering up what looked suspiciously like a waterskiing rope before running out in the snow to check her path, showing Logan where she wanted him to ride. Shaking his head, he agreed, heading into the barn to saddle up. When they got outside, K put the skis on and grabbed the tow strap, giving Logan the signal. They started out at a walk, and in no time, he went to a trot, straight into a lope and reluctantly finally a dead run as K figured out how to turn a little on the skis, slaloming behind the horse, looking for a little hill. There was none, and eventually they stopped, Logan laughing at her.

"You're crazy you know that, right?" he said with a grin.

"Hey, this is centuries old. I'm not crazy. It's _fun._ You should try it. You might just like it."

…...

The new semester sucked. Something seemed to happen to the staff at the Xavier Institute when there wasn't much for the X-Men to do. Sure, it started out all relaxed and friendly like, but within a few weeks, the team members were all getting cagey, and taking it out on their classes. Everyone but Ms. Munroe and K had either very short fuses, or were just tense as hell. Surprisingly, Mr. Logan and Dr. McCoy were the next most relaxed ones. It seemed that even though the X-Men were in a holding pattern, the Avengers were busy, keeping their minds moving. Mr. Summers was a bear. God forbid you suggest something different in one of his classes. It would just get you detention. Apparently he wanted his bad mood to spread too. K was covering Logan's history class while he was on a mission and Mr. Summers had been in a foul mood all morning. He flung the door to the history room open, fuming until he saw K, then simply turned tail and left. Chloe and Jubilee stared at K, wondering how she was going to handle it, shocked when she simply continued on with the lesson to a point where they were all reading before excusing herself to slip across the hall to Mr. Summers' class, where she gave him enough to have a coronary over. Half the class had slipped to the door to see what she was up to, holding their breath as they watched her run her hands over the sides of her jeans while exhaling then suddenly kick the door open stomping straight up to him as he back pedaled away from her all the way to the window, where she grabbed a chair, pulled it over and jumped up on it so she was now nearly towering over him, leaning into him harshly, jabbing her finger in his chest.

"Chill. The fuck. Out. Before you piss someone off." she snarled before hopping down and sauntering back to the history room, her students scrambling to get back to their chairs before she was at Logan's desk, his students staring at the open door or their flabbergasted teacher. The two classrooms were totally silent for a good five minutes before Mr. Summers finally cleared his throat and continued on his lesson. K looked out the window as they read as if nothing had happened, only quietly and quite politely asking Quire to 'please close the door so that Mr. Summer's droning voice doesn't disturb our reading'. He grinned as he rushed to do so, the whole event effectively ending Mr. Summers' foul mood for at least a week.

…...

Chloe was throwing things into her back pack, Zoe standing there wondering which coat she needed when Ms. Pryde knocked on the door.

"You girls ready for the winter survival trip?" she asked with a grin. The girls looked to each other before answering.

"I guess. Why is the survival trip during a horrible snow fall this year? Last year's was great mid winter thaw, the temperature wasn't enough to frostbite an eskimo ..." Zoe faded off as Kitty chuckled.

"It's in the winter because Logan thinks Mr. Summers was too easy on you in his place. Oh, and Chloe? Forget the backpack. You won't be allowed it anyhow. What's on your back only." she told her as she turned to walk away.

"Just what we're wearing and K isn't going. This stinks." Chloe said, tossing her back pack on the bed.

"The sadist returns." Zoe said, flopping down. "At least he's making Jubilee go too. She didn't even sign up and he said she's going if he has to drag her." The group on the trip was shocked at the number of teachers accompanying them. Ms. Kinney, Mr. Summers, Mr. Wagner, Ms. Pryde and Mr. Rasputin to chaperone a little over a dozen students – some that had signed up, and some that were unlucky enough to have misbehaved severely in the past two weeks, taking the trip as a punishment.

They loaded up in several cars, following Logan's lead to a two track ten miles off a paved road, followed by an eight mile hike along a game trail to where he told them to make camp.

"With what?" Quire shouted, arms spread wide as he shivered in the cold. They hadn't been allowed to bring any tents, let alone sleeping bags.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were plannin on makin' s'mores and singin' kumbaya. I was under the impression this was a survival trip. Figure it out. I'm just here to supervise." Logan growled out, leaning against a massive fir tree, lighting his cigar. The students stared at each other a moment, sure that the other teachers were going to intervene before Logan growled out to them again.

"Better get a move on. Nightfall's comin' and you're gonna freeze your ass off without a fire." The two sisters shared a look before turning and walking off, all the lessons K had given them springing to mind as one foraged for firewood and the other went about finding low hanging boughs on the pines and firs. Logan watched the two girls with interest. The rest of the class hadn't thought about breaking up their groups to get two jobs done, and the sister's experiences with K were indeed quite helpful. Zoe had returned with her second armful of wood to the spot they'd chosen for a campsite, not too far from where Logan was leaning, where the snow was sparse under the massive fir tree. Chloe picked up one of the boughs she'd gathered and swept clean the snow from where she planned to start the fire while Zoe headed back to the trees in search for more wood. It didn't take the girls long before their meager campsite was set up and running, a small fire burning as they huddled around it for warmth.

"You girls have more'n enough wood for the night. You don't have to worry about anyone finding you this time." he said as Chloe nodded, tossing a few more pieces of wood onto the little fire. When they'd warmed up sufficiently, they went back to making their shelter – simple, and more apt for warmer weather, but the little lean to would keep the snow off them, and the boughs they'd used for a floor would keep a fair amount of the chill away from them from the ground. Logan was impressed with them, and decided to take a seat with them as the rest of the class fought with either finding wood or starting their fires, using the girls as a template for what they should be doing.

"You didn't discuss who was gathering what. You always gather that way?" he asked, leaning toward them.

"Well, K always had me gather wood, and Chloe always looked for branches for a shelter while K circled around and looked for any trouble. She was usually the one to start the fire and set up the shelter though. We just watched." Zoe explained. Logan nodded.

"Let me tell you a few tricks for in the snow. It's pretty clear you girls never camped in winter before." he said before he started showing them how to use the snow to insulate their little shelter for starters, packing it up along the edges, telling them that if they could, putting snow all the way up the boughs would keep them warm and camouflaged. By morning, only the sisters were still somewhat warm, the rest of the class shivering and miserable. The adults had done fairly well, only Logan staying out all night with no shelter in the wind. They trekked back to the vehicles, most of the students convinced they were suffering from frostbite, several complaining that they nearly froze to death in their sleep.

"Yer fine. Quit yer bitchin." Logan growled out. "You're nowhere close to freezin' to death. As long as you're shiverin' you're fine." he grumbled. Lord knows he'd seen his fair share of frozen hikers in his years. Idiots that got caught on a mountain top somewhere, relying too much on their fancy gear to have the damn fool sense to hole up in a snowstorm. There was little worse to him than to come across some idiot that got caught in the cold, their frozen corpse stuck to the ground.

When they returned Mr. Summers let them out of classes for the next day, he himself having gotten a little too cold and wanting to spend the day curled up in front of a roaring fire with his wife, all the rest of the staff doing the same.

A few weeks later as spring broke across upstate New York, their riding class was once again commandeered by Ms. Kinney and Ms. Pryde, though this time, K had left them instructions for the week they'd be gone, essentially playing games, which proved especially funny as they watched Ms. Kinney struggle with the idea of doing these things for fun. On K and Logan's return, a sheet was posted for a field trip run by their friend. They'd of course signed up, but were surprised when K gathered up a few of the best riders and asked if they'd go on a horse drive.

"We signed up for the cattle drive." Zoe said, confused as K shook her head.

"Not the same. This is a free pass of sorts. Complete the horse drive, and you're exempt from the final. You'll still have to ride in class, but you won't have to run the last test." she explained.

The sisters shared a look and immediately agreed, Jubilee joining them. Emmet, Sam and Hisako rounded out the group that K approached, only Hisako bowing out of it.

"It sounds dangerous." she said shyly. K nodded.

"It is. But you can still do the cattle drive for extra credit. I won't pressure you for the other." K replied, Hisako smiling at her as she nodded. "Wonderful. I'll let you know what you'll need. We leave in a couple weeks." K said, standing and leaving them to discuss things amongst themselves.

"Didn't any of you realize that the only ones she asked to do the horse drive are the ones that always want to do the speed games?" Hisako said quietly. The rest of them looked at each other a moment.

"So. You think she's planning on punishing us for wanting to run? It's not like she's Logan." Emmett said, Hisako shaking her head at them.

"No, she's not, but they do have a _lot_ in common. Don't be surprised if she doesn't have a reason for asking us." Hisako said, unaware of how right she was. K was very laid back in class, but after a while if she found herself repeating over and over the same thing to the same people, she was more than willing to do something drastic to correct them.


	23. Extra Credit

The student's first look at Colorado was breathtaking. They were in the foothills of the Rockies, the land lush but hilly, icy mountain rivers cutting through the terrain that they'd have to drive the cows through. When they made it to the ranch, they were surprised at the number of cows there in the holding pen. A handful of cowboys were milling about, most likely prepping for the next day's kickoff. K was counting the students as they gathered, about to say something to them when the door to the office banged open and the ranch owner, a taller, broader, unshaven version of K's old friend stepped out with a grin, making a beeline for her and picking her up bodily to most everyone's surprise. Logan looked like he was trying hard to not say something. Within a few minutes, they were sent to their bunkhouses to change into their riding gear then off to the sorting pens to get their tack assignments and test with the grizzly looking tall redheaded man named Liam who looked like he had no sense of humor. That was a totally wrong accusation. The man had the driest sense of humor the teens had ever heard, and picked on all of them mercilessly– Ms. Pryde and Mr. Drake too. He was in the middle of teasing Sam about her elbows, something K had been after her about, when K and Logan made their way to the pen to check in on how it went. Liam's stance changed as soon as he saw her there.

"Whatsa matter, Liam?" one of the other cowboys asked. "You afraid that little girls' gonna show you up?" he laughed as Liam shook his head slowly.

"Nope. I know she would. This is the gal that won the bull riding competition a few years back – the one that took all our money on that one ride." Liam answered, the other cowboy looking at her in disbelief.

"That little thing? Nah. No way." he scoffed. K turned her gaze to him.

"There's a rodeo at the end of the horse drive. You wanna put some money on it, or you just happy flappin' yer jaw?" K spit out, her glare clear. He laughed a little.

"No, ma'am. I won't bet on that. Not when Liam says it was you." he chuckled. "I suppose you're the one Graham has leadin' the horse drive?" K just nodded. "Well then, you and yer kids here stay safe. I'll see ya on the trail."

..

The drive started just after dawn, everyone was well fed and ready to go, and Liam was anxious to get the show on the road. The students were excited, Sam thrilled at the prospect of a cattle drive until it was actually under way. The horses walked all. Day. Long. She was sure that one of the cowboys actually fell asleep in the saddle as the horse simply continued walking. It went on like that for the rest of the drive, the only interesting things happening was an occasional calf wandering off or a cow that simply wanted a patch of grass more than it wanted to walk. When the drive was over, the sisters were frustrated. _ This _was what everyone was excited about? Walking cows to their new home? Ugh. If the horse drive was half as boring as this, Zoe was ready to quit cowboy work all together. Then K came to check on them the night before the horse drive.

"Please tell me we won't be just walking all day." Emmett groaned.

"Oh, I seriously doubt it." K replied.

"So we can trot at least? Canter maybe? Please?" Sam chimed in.

"Oh yeah. Just rest up. You'll need it tomorrow. Oh, and eat light in the morning." she warned before turning in to bed leaving the five top riders of Xaviers wondering about her meaning.

"Did anyone bother Googling a horse drive?" Chloe asked suddenly. They all looked at each other nervously. Apparently, they all had assumed it was just like a cattle drive – only with horses. The next morning came early, and the kids were all ready to go, looking bored as they saddled up, shifting in their saddles, a little sore from sitting on hard seats for the past week. Emmett was the one to point out that something was different with K as she conferred with the other cowboys, Logan holding her horse for her as she made her way to them for a moment. Her tone and deadly serious look instantly had them on edge. More so when she made a point to get confirmation from each of them with eye contact before she broke off to mount up.

"I think we're in trouble guys." Emmett said as K gave the signal to the students to mount up, then another to the men at the gate. For a half second, they thought he was being paranoid until the first horse kicked up it's heels and the next twenty or so followed suit, breaking into dead run, the horses under them following suit, every one of them acting like runaways. It wasn't until they'd run for a good ten minutes or so that Chloe spotted K in the hazy morning sun, near the front of the herd, the loose horses so tight on her that she could see them bashing into her legs as they ran. For a moment she tried to slow her horse down – no such luck. It was run like hell until it was time to stop. By the end of the day, which became incredibly dusty as the sun rose, none of them could feel their backsides. Their legs were numb, and Chloe was practically in tears. None of them had anything to say, each of them desperately trying to just get off the horse and stand upright. She thought it felt strange to walk after not being attached to her legs all day. Dusty, sweaty and worn out they waddled their way to where Ms. Pryde told them their cots were, all of them dropping down like corpses while she and the camp cook brought them food. K and Logan were nowhere to be seen.

"Probably healed up already and making out somewhere." Zoe grumbled.

"Hell, they probably like this kind of abuse." Emmett added. They eventually all sat up, none of them really wanting to talk, all of them starving, but sore as hell. "I hope one of them comes by so I can borrow a healing factor." Emmett said staring at the campfire.

"Cheater." Jubilee grumbled.

"Like you wouldn't if you could." he replied. Not long after, Mr. Drake came to check on them.

"Hey Popsicle, would you mind icing my ass for me?" Jubilee asked, rolling onto her stomach and smiling over her shoulder at him. He smirked. Normally he'd ignore a request like that, but he was sore too until he'd iced up a little bit. In a flash, she screamed as he froze her bluejeans, the rest of them requesting the same treatment and giggling like loons when they got it. When K came and offered them an out, none of them wanted to take it – not really. After she walked away Jubilee started to stare at Emmett.

"What?" he asked, shifting uncomfortably under her glare.

"Did you do it?" she asked, insinuating that he borrowed K's healing factor. He shook his head.

"No. I wanted to, but if you can do this without it, I can too." he said with a smirk. Jubilee grinned, he wasn't a wuss after all. No one was sure when they fell asleep, but when the wake up call came around Zoe couldn't move. Neither could Sam. They had to back out.

"I'm so sorry, Chloe. I really wanted to finish." Zoe said, tears in her eyes – she simply physically couldn't do it.

"Don't worry about it, Zoe. Just make sure to sneak me some of the cowboy's whiskey when I get back." she said sadly. Sam tried to laugh, too sore to do that as she stiffly tried to stand up with Chloe and Jubilee's help. All of them were clearly stiff, and irked as hell when they saw K and Logan stretching out as if they lived and breathed yoga, loose and relaxed, and smiling damn them. If anything the second day was worse than the first. Jubes broke a rein and was ready to truly freak out when K came and checked on her, giving her one of her own reins and riding off with bale twine tied to her horse's bit. Jubes nearly fell halfway through the ride and both were in tears by the time the drive was over, the only redeeming part of it was Emmett picking Jubes off her horse to help her to the ground. They were pleased to see that even Logan and K looked like shit by the end of the drive too. Although they were starving, they were too tired to eat properly, instead shoveling what they could into their mouths before wandering off to bed.

"Oh god. I'm going to sleep until noon. For a week. No. A month. God, why didn't the professor have a hot tub installed again? Oh, right. Horny teenagers. Damnit." Jubilee rambled to herself, getting weak smiles from her saddle sore companions.

Over lunch the next day, Chloe realized how pretty Colorado really was, at least when you weren't staring at wandering cows or the backsides of running horses. They couldn't believe that K had arranged for them all to stay for a rodeo too. The wedding was an optional thing, but they all chose to go, nothing better to do, after all. The rodeo was where the party was anyhow. Right after the wedding it started up and all of them were there, sneaking whiskey from some of the more friendly cowboys. They knew better than to get wasted. If K or Logan caught them with booze on their breath, they were screwed. It seemed lucky then when they both seemed totally preoccupied as they snuggled up with Abbey, watching the cowboys compete. The trip home was uneventful, but entertaining. Sam and Zoe fell asleep curled up together, as did Jubilee and Emmett to Chloe's shock. They were in the rear most seats, and passed out, leaning against each other, his arm around Jubes' shoulders as they both slept for the entire trip back. Once they landed they both acted as if it was nothing, parting ways without a word said. Maybe it was because nothing had happened – or maybe because Logan was giving him a dirty look as he picked up his sleeping wife.

She asked Jubes about it the next day.

"Nothing's going on, really. I mean, I like him, but I don't know. We're friends." Jubilee said sleepily. It seemed M's relationship was safe. Jubes had no intentions on stealing him away. Too bad Monet seemed to believe otherwise. She spent her spare time following Jubes around, sure that she was after Emmett. To her credit, Jubilee was becoming a pro at ignoring her. More than that, she'd taken it a step further, asking her to join them at lunch, just because she knew it irritated her. After a few days, Monet got the hint and simply left her alone. It was such a passive move on Jube's part that none of them could figure out how or why she'd done it.

"Easy. If I fight her, I'm the one that gets in trouble, because she'd never start it. BUT, if I ignore her, she's really the only one pissed off. I could care less what she does. If she wants to follow me around that badly, whatever." Jubes said one day, looking totally relaxed. The season of cramming had begun. Most students were up far too late, and far too early, studying like crazy for their upcoming exams. A month later, Sam was the only one around with the teachers having coffee when Logan and K came in, K looking green as she leaned on the counter for balance, mumbling before she passed out, cracking her head on the marble counter hard enough to crack the counter, a huge black bruise blooming up as Logan caught her just before she hit the ground. The kitchen was silent. Mr. Summers reached out and stopped Ms. Pryde from following them as Logan rushed her to the lab.

"He's got this. Just leave them be. If it's bad, you'll hear about it soon enough." he told her, Abbey in his arms, wide eyed and sucking on her fingers as she leaned into her 'uncle'. It was past lunch when Zoe saw Logan carrying K out to the boat house. From the look of things, she was unconscious. The girls didn't discuss it, just looked between each other grimly, wondering what had gone wrong, particularly when Ms. Pryde came in to take over K's class for the day. None of the adults would tell them what had happened. Chloe decided to take it into her own hands after class, sneaking off to the boat house to brave facing Logan. He looked grim when he opened the door.

"Sorry, kid, you can't see her. She's doped up pretty good." he told her. "Maybe tomorrow." she was shell shocked as he closed the door. There was no way she'd be able to study now. Unanswered questions flooded her brain – what could have happened to her, and what kind of crazy drugs was she on that she was doped up? When K finally was up and around she was distant. The sisters tried to go see her after some tests, but stopped short when they found her sitting next to Mr. Summers, leaning into him, his arm around her shoulder. Whatever was going on, they didn't want to be witness to it.

"You don't think they're having an affair do you?" Sam asked as the group of girls nibbled their lunch under a tree.

"God no. Logan would know in a heartbeat." Jubilee said, her nose wrinkled up. "And you know, Ol' Fearless would be dead then." Sam laughed a little, stopping when she realized the others were grimly nodding their head in agreement.

"He wouldn't really-"

"Oh, yes. Yes. He would. Especially if it was him." Jubilee said seriously. "Messy and quick. His claws aren't just for show." Sam looked spooked. Of course, she knew who he was, and what he did, but to turn on a team mate? She didn't' think he would. Then again, of the students, Jubilee was the one who knew him best.

When the tests were all done, and everyone had a good laugh at the riding test, the girls fears erased as they watched Logan and K together, both of them clearly still head over heels for each other, Mr. Summers gave them a surprise with a pool party that the teenagers used as a flimsy excuse to see who could wear the skimpiest bathing suit. M was barely covered and feeling like the queen bee until Jubilee showed up. Clearly, the more stylish of the two, and much higher on the cool ratings simply because it was apparent that she didn't give a damn about what the rest of the school thought of her. Emmett found himself hanging around Jubilee and the girls with Jono and Angelo. It was official, the power shift of popularity had finally swung away from M.


	24. Rebellion

The girls were slow to come down to breakfast the morning after the pool party. They'd stayed up far too late laughing and having a good time and now it was nearly noon. When they finally made it to the kitchen, they were surprised to see Kitty playing with Abbey, who was becoming increasingly irritated, slapping her biggest sis in the nose as she tried desperately to get her to settle down.

"What's up Kitty?" Jubilee said casually, though her expression was far too studious to be mistaken for mild curiosity as she'd intended.

"Trying to get her to calm down. Logan and K have disappeared, and she knows something's wrong." she replied, looking worried.

"I'm sure they'll turn up, right?" Chloe said as she yawned. "I mean, they probably just got caught up somewhere." Jubes and Kitty shared a worried glance.

"Has Jean looked?" Jubes asked.

"They're gone, Jubes. She can't find them. Neither can Charles. Wherever they are, it's protected against telepaths, and that doesn't sound like anywhere either should be." Kitty replied. The teenagers looked amongst themselves before all of them made their way to Kitty and Abbey. The least they could do was try to keep the little one from freaking out. It wasn't an easy task either. Abbey knew there was a problem. In fact, she understood a lot more than Kitty gave her credit for and currently she was worrying her lip as Jubie made her teddy bear kiss her nose. She played with the teens for a few hours, giving up her attempt to have fun when she finally climbed up on Jube's lap, hugging her tightly, her head on Jubes' shoulder. She'd gotten to a point where she just wanted to be held. Jubes felt awful for her and took pity on the little one, kicking out some of the other teenagers in the living room and putting on a kids movie for her, cuddling the little one as the adults made phone calls and the telepaths took turns on cerebro. Someone had to know something.

Around dinner time, Dr. McCoy left. Rumor had it that there may have been a lead with the Avengers, though they didn't want to share information over any line – secured or otherwise. Dark fell and Abbey was miserable, fussy and borderline inconsolable. It wasn't that she couldn't take it when mom &amp; dad left, it was that she didn't know they were going to be gone. They always said goodbye a special way. Eventually, Jubes had to take her to Charles, hoping he'd be able to settle her down somehow. When she saw him, she wiggled from Jube's arms and toddled over to him with tears in her eyes as he picked her up. He did try to communicate to her, listening to what the little one told him, reassuring her that they would find her parents. Abbey had finally fallen asleep on Mr. Summers' chest in the living room, her hand resting on his stubble and the teenagers close at hand to help if they were needed. She spent the rest of the night there, snuggling with him fitfully.

The next day was worse still. Abbey woke up crying and fussing and no one could calm her down. She was mad, her temper showing as she fought with everyone who tried to console her. It was nearly midnight when the call came in from an unknown cell phone. Mrs. Summers was the one to take the call – Mr. LeBeau had gotten Abbey to relax a little, doing little slight of hand tricks for her, finally getting her to break her crabby mood and take a nap, snuggled into him tightly. Mrs. Summers looked confused when she answered the call, her expression shifting to realization as the conversation continued. When she hung up she and Mr. LeBeau were staring at each other.

"Are you going to be alright with her, Remy?" she asked, he nodded speaking as quietly as he could manage.

"Unless you need help, de petit femme fine right here." he replied. She nodded.

"We'll be back soon. Hopefully they're not too badly injured." she said, rushing to the lower levels, her husband already at the elevator, responding to her psychic request. Not long after, Kitty showed up and took a seat next to a nearly sleeping Mr. LeBeau.

"I can take her if you want to go, Remy." Kitty offered. He smiled at her sleepily, resting his hand on the little one's back before answering her.

"Nah. Don' want to disturb her. Let her be." he said with a little smirk. Kitty smiled back at him. It seemed little Abbey simply had that effect on people.

...

Early the next morning, the girls decided to head to the barn in an attempt to act somewhat normal and make sure the chores were done in hopes that the team would be back soon. When they got down there, they were stunned. The mess left behind from the finals rides was astounding. All the saddles were filthy – mud all over them, the blankets sweaty and foul smelling, and to make matters worse, though the horses had been fed, no one had mucked the stalls. The three didn't even discuss it, simply diving into the work that needed to be done. By the time the blackbird returned, they'd nearly finished and all the blankets were already being washed at the house. They heard Abbey's squeals as Logan and K made their way to the boathouse, the child grasping her father tightly as they walked. K waved as she spotted them, unable to stop to chat. When they got into the house, they were met with a very angry Rogue.

"Whose bright idea was it to wash a buncha damn _horse blankets_ in _all the washers?"_ she snarled, staring at the three girls as they floundered for an alibi. "They are coated in horsehair! That smell don't wash out easy!"

"We didn't think about that. Sorry. We'll clean it up." Chloe said sheepishly.

"You're darn right you will! Right now! GO. Before I slap you into the middle of next week lookin' both ways for Sunday." She growled out, hands on her hips as she stared at them. The three scurried off, amazed at the amount of horse hair caked to the inside of the washers. The saddle blankets were clean and mostly fresh smelling but what a mess they had on their hands.

"Don't toss those in the dryer." Mr. Summers warned, looking weary from lack of sleep as he helped them to stack up the damp blankets. "Take them outside to dry." He then gave them his advice for fixing the mess ahead of them as he leaned against the wall and scrubbed his face with his hands.

"Girls, you three have been flying under the radar for a while. You're all here for the summer, so we may as well start you up on individual exercises in the Danger Room. Come see me tomorrow for your summer schedules. I expect you to stick to it, even if most of the team is out on a mission, do you understand me?" Mr. Summers finished, replacing his visor and looking from one to the next.

"Is this punishment for the mess?" Jubilee asked, and Mr. Summers actually smirked at her.

"No, this is since you've always made a point of pushing to be on a team. You need to be up to snuff for that." he replied easily.

"I never wanted to join though." Zoe said with a frown.

"No, but you should do it anyhow. Your control needs work. You have one setting right now, and I think your range can improve drastically. In fact, my brother will be here before the end of the week, and he may be the perfect teacher for you." he told her, a look of horror on her face. There were two of them? Oh God.

…...

Mr. Summers …. er, Alex, that is, arrived two days later with his girlfriend, Lorna. He was far and away the opposite of his older, more uptight brother, though the two of them seemed to get along well. Mr. Summers wasted no time in introducing him to Zoe.

"Zoe, this is my brother, Alex. He's going to be here for a while anyhow. I told him about your abilities, and he's agreed to help you out."

"Hey. I had the same troubles when I was younger. Not exactly the same abilities, but, close enough." Alex said easily with a grin. He had some of the prettiest eyes she'd ever seen on a man. "You wanna meet up in the danger room this afternoon?" Zoe nodded without thinking, even though she'd been quite reluctant to the idea yesterday. "Great. Let's say two-ish?" Zoe grinned.

"Alright. I'll be there." Zoe replied finally. Jubilee took her to the locker room an hour before her lesson with Alex, making sure she had a suit that fit her – mostly. It was easy, seeing as most of the women on the team were around her height, though the tightness of it made her uncomfortable. Zoe hated showing off her body too much, preferring to wear a hoodie or an over shirt all the time. Looking at herself in the mirror, she was stunned at how well she filled out the suit.

Alex was waiting for her when she got into the danger room.

"Great – so …. let's see what you can do, alright?" he said with an easy grin, nodding to his brother in the booth, the scene shifting to what looked like backyard shooting range.

"So, you just have to learn to aim your … shock waves? Is that what Scott said you called them?" Alex asked, his brow crinkled as he tried to understand. She nodded her head.

"Yeah, I don't know what else to call them." she said quietly. He watched her fidget, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Show me." Alex said, gesturing down range to the line of tin cans on a fence. Zoe took a deep breath and focused, leveling the fence and all the cans on it.

"OK. Good. Now, let's try again, this time, pick one can and try to knock it over, not the whole thing." Alex instructed as Scott reset the sim. Half an hour later, she'd gotten it, though she had to focus on a single letter on the label of the can to only knock it off the fence. Alex grinned at her.

"Fantastic. It took me months to learn how to focus like that. Tomorrow we'll work on how much power you put behind them." he told her, excusing her for the day, and calling out to his brother to get his sorry butt down there with him to spar before the door closed – the sibling trash talking echoing into the hall behind her as she left. She felt so great about how well it went she called Sam to let her know. Sam was distracted though.

"There's going to be a big party in the city next weekend. My old friend Emma has a car, do you guys want to go?" Sam said, a smile obvious in her voice. Zoe didn't hesitate.

"Hell yeah! Text the details and I'll see who else is up." she answered, grinning as she made her way to see her sister and Jubes. Chloe declined. She said it didn't sound like the best idea to her, but Jubes was up for it. She and M had had another fight earlier over literally nothing. M's accusation that Jubilee was boring and immature was totally unfounded. Where she got off thinking she was some adult already was beyond Zoe, and she did all she could to rein in the anger she had brewing. If she used her abilities on her, she'd be in huge trouble for sure. Instead, Zoe used her energies to focus Jubes on what they'd wear to the rave. Paige over heard them and wanted in too, and before long, word had very quietly gotten out and at least half of the students that were residents had plans to go.

…...

The night of the rave, the girls stashed their wardrobes in backpacks and waited for the opportunity to sneak out. Zoe saw Logan and K sitting together, their focus on the lake and each other as the sun set. The Summers' were going to be out until at least nine and the professor was at a speaking event four hours away. It couldn't have been a more perfect night to sneak out and party. Until of course, M blocked their way.

"It's a bad idea, you guys." M said, looking somber.

"Shut up, Monet. We're going. Don't be a drag just because you weren't invited." Jubilee barked out. Monet shook her head, eyes closed. She truly was pleading with them.

"No, you don't understand it's a _bad_ idea. Please, don't be stupid tonight. Stay here, or go to a club, but don't head to that rave. The buzz on it is bad." Monet said, for the first time looking sincerely concerned for their well being. Unfortunately, Jubliee was dead set to defy her, bumping her hard with her shoulder as she passed. "Jubes, I'm serious – please, I'm sorry we fought earlier! Don't go!" Zoe and Paige shared a look of total confusion as they walked out. It wasn't like Monet to be this concerned about someone else, let alone Jubilee. "Fine! Go be stupid! Just don't say I didn't warn you." Monet half shouted out. Yeah. There was the Monet they were used to. The girls didn't give her a second look as they climbed into Emma's car. How the rest of the kids got there was their own business. Right now, the girls were out to have a good time.

The rave was everything they'd heard it would be and more. Thumping bass, flashing lights, blacklights, glitter, and half naked college kids everywhere. The girls busted out the fake ID's since the party was for 21+ and danced their way in. Jubilee was determined to have a good time and before too long, she sure seemed to be doing it. She was dancing on a platform, shaking it like nothing Zoe had ever seen, she and Sam cheering her on as she swayed. When she finally climbed down, a bouncer handed her drink back to her and the girls took to the dance floor together. All was going well until suddenly, Jubes looked sick. A different bouncer rushed in, assuring them that he'd get her to some fresh air. Zoe tried to follow her, but soon found no way through the crowd that swelled shut behind the bouncer's wake. Nervous, she began to push her way the direction she'd gone, looking for her friend, Sam on her heels, both of them suddenly getting scared. Everywhere they turned there was gyrating bodies. The nearer they got to the direction that Jubes disappeared there was all kinds of sex acts going on – girls going down on guys right off the dance floor, straight up sex a stones' throw from the bar – things that neither girl had seen in person before. They searched for a while, finally being forced to leave when Zoe started to get sick too. Sam and Paige realized what had happened and pushed like hell to get her out of the rave before a bouncer spotted them. Zoe's head spun until she hit fresh air, and then she spun on her heels and threw up. They hauled her to the car, her eyes rolling in her head and looking drunk as hell.

"We gotta go NOW." Emma said.

"No! We can't! What about Jubes?" Sam demanded.

"Shit." she muttered, looking around frantically at the crowd. "She got sick, right? She's got to be around here somewhere." Time ticked by slowly while Paige waited with Zoe at the car and Sam and Emma went in search of Jubilee. They walked all around the warehouse where the rave was being held, spotting no one until they heard retching near a dumpster. They cautiously went up to her, Sam ready to blast electricity at anyone that tried to accost them, instead breaking down in tears when she saw Jubes. Her clothes were torn almost entirely off, her makeup smudged, and she was bleeding – apparently one of the bodyguards didn't take her somewhere safe. They helped her up onto shaky feet, Jubes was in shock.

"We have to get her to a police station." Emma said. "I think she's been raped." Sam's blood ran cold as they all but carried Jubes to the car, Sam terrified now that the same thing could have happened to Zoe – or any one of them. They rushed to the police station to file a report, but the cop on duty just shook his head.

"Look at you girls. You're dressed like _that_ and you're drunk. No one's gonna believe your little friend there wasn't lookin' for it." The desk sergeant said. "Now go home before I charge ya with drunk and disorderly – or better yet, minor in possession." the girls were infuriated, but didn't know what else to do. They turned tail and headed back. Twenty minutes into the ride back, Jubes started to come around in earnest, melting into tears as she tried to steel herself. She didn't know what to do, but she knew she had to talk to someone. She needed Wolvie to tell her she'd be alright. When they were nearly back to Xaviers, she finally spoke up, wiping her eyes and smudging her makeup worse.

"Can you drop me off closer to the boat house? I need to talk to Wolvie." Jubes said between sobs. Sam's eyes widened.

"Jubes, why would you want to do that?" Sam asked, frightened. Jubes sighed as she tried harder to pull it together.

"Because when you screw up, you tell the people that love you so they can help you. I need him to tell me it's going to be alright. I just want a hug from _him._" Jubes said quietly. Zoe was coming around well by that time, and Sam couldn't picture Wolverine giving anyone a _hug_ when they'd fucked up so royally.

"Yeah, and he'll probably, you know, find who did it and kick the shit out of them." Zoe said, her words still slurring a little as her head spun. They did as she asked, watching from the front steps of the mansion as the door to the boat house opened, revealing his broad figure, the tufts of his hair visible on his silhouette as he pulled her to him, hugging her tightly before pulling her into the house and closing the door behind her.

"Well, we need to get you inside." Sam said to Zoe. "You think you can make it?" Zoe nodded.

"Texted my sishter. She's waitin' for me now." Zoe gestured to the door, as it opened just enough for Chloe to slip out.

"Some of the others are already back. They said it got nasty – is everyone alright?" Chloe asked. The girls shared a grim look as Paige helped Zoe out of the car.

"Jubilee had something really bad happen." Sam said, her eyes haunted. "She's with Wolverine right now, telling him everything." Chloe's eyes went wide.

"You guys better get the hell out of here. We're all in so much trouble right now, I can't even tell you. I'll text or call or email or something to let you know what happened, but you better leave now." Chloe said, Paige nodding in agreement as they rushed Zoe upstairs, hoping to get changed before they got caught. It was pointless, of course, they were already caught.


	25. Grounded

Morning came early to the sisters and several of the other resident students at Xaviers. Chloe and Zoe were awakened by a very somber Mrs. Summers.

"Girls. You have an appointment this morning with Professor Xavier. He expects you in his office by nine – it's 8:15 now. I suggest you are as presentable as possible." she said very somberly, closing the door behind her. The two girls stared at each other from across the room, terrified.

"Are we going to get kicked out?" Chloe asked, her voice shaking and her eyes wide. Zoe looked near tears.

"I have no idea. What happened to Jubes last night?" Zoe asked. Chloe looked worried as she shook her head. She never did hear what had gone down. They dressed quickly and rushed to his office, startled to find a short line of other students waiting outside as well, M among them. Zoe stared at her, knowing she hadn't gone. So why was she here? To get them in more trouble? Oh, this was bad.

Paige rushed over to the sisters, pale and clearly nervous, but before she could say anything, the three of them were summoned in to see the Professor. When they stepped around the large, intricately carved mahogany door, under Mr. Summer's arm, they were shocked to see all the teachers sitting or standing in the office. Dr. McCoy, Logan and K, all three of the Summers', Mr. Drake, Ms. Munroe. When the sisters looked toward K, they hoped to find a friend. Instead, she was glaring as badly as Logan. Their hearts fell. They were in for trouble.

"Please, girls, have a seat." the Professor said sternly, but with a kind note to his voice. "I'd like for you to begin by telling me what happened last night." The three girls took a collective breath and as Chloe opened her mouth to try to ease the blow, Zoe cut across her.

"It was my idea. I made the arrangements. I screwed up for everyone. I'm sorry. We were just trying to dance – that's all. We didn't even order any alcohol, they just put it in our cokes. I swear, we didn't go out trying to drink." she said, staring at her feet, her head bowed.

"They slipped something in the drinks – not just booze." Paige supplied.

"GHB." K cut in. "They didn't need to have more than a sip or two before it was an issue, and it was very fast acting stuff." The girls stared at her now, wondering how she'd know. Charles looked hard at K a moment, the two staring eye to eye when his face went very solemn, his mouth drawn tight at the corners.

"I see." he said quietly as Logan put his arm around her. "You broke a number of rules last night. All of which have their own unique set of consequences. Sneaking out after curfew, drinking – even if it wasn't your intention, breaking every single rule that you learned in combat class to protect yourselves, not to mention the slew of local laws you broke, including your false identifications – which, you will need to give to Mr. Summers within the hour. I should tell you that Jubilation was assaulted as you had feared last night. I do not need to tell you that it easily could have been any one of you – or all of you. Young girls in a place like that is never a good idea. Everyone involved last night will be on probation for the remainder of the summer. You have nothing else to do from here until school begins but to do as you're asked from any of the teachers or staff here. You may go, except for you, Zoe – you will go with Dr. McCoy to the lab for blood work and an exam. Just because you are in trouble does not mean we will take your health lightly. I'd like to be sure that the drug is out of your system with no ill effects." She nodded, rising to follow him to the lab, the other two excused as similar punishment was laid out to the waiting students.

…...

"You have no idea how lucky you are, my dear." Dr. McCoy told her as he pressed a cotton ball to the crook of her arm, bandaging her after the blood draw and moving to begin her general evaluation. "Jubilee was a mess last night."

"She's not in trouble too is she?" Zoe asked, hoping the staff would take it easy on her seeing as she'd been assaulted. Dr. McCoy shook his head.

"I'm afraid she's 'grounded' too, for lack of a better term. Don't do the crime, as they say." he replied, rushing to finish what was required for her physical. As she was prepping to leave, he handed her a bottle of water. "I will run your blood to check for any other troubles, but I don't expect to find anything in it – that particular drug exits the system rather quickly. In the mean time, I am advising you to stay in bed today and drink plenty of water to flush out any remaining residue and rehydrate you. Unfortunately, dehydration is a side effect. If anyone tries to make you work today, refer them to me." He told her, Zoe was surprised by his reaction. "Oh, and Zoe, if you can't manage to stay in bed today, you will be brought here to rest." She nodded and thanked him before making her way upstairs, catching Mr. Summers on the way and telling him the good doctor's recommendation. He nodded and sent her off, the others were scrubbing the hardwood floors on the main level as she passed them. On a hunch, she stuck her head in Jubilee's door before going to her room, finding her curled up in bed, crying silently.

"Jubes -" Zoe started to say, but her look cut her short. "I'm really glad you're alright. I'm sorry things happened like they did. We – we tried to stick to you, but the bouncer -"

"The bouncer was one of the ones that did it." Jubilee said, cutting her off. "Apparently though, K took care of it." Zoe was stunned. She thought for sure Logan would be the one handling any hunting. "Listen, you better go to bed. I heard you got drugged too. Scooter'll have your ass if you're not there when he checks." Zoe nodded and waved to her friend, pausing only to tell her that Monet was in trouble too – apparently K and Logan weren't the only teachers that felt that Monet knowing what was happening but keeping it to herself was nearly as bad as sneaking out herself. Jubilee gave her a weak smile as she closed the door feeling more like dirt as she made her way to her room.

…...

The girls were worried about Jubilee. She was increasingly more distant, and she was in nearly daily therapy sessions with Mrs. Summers. Mercifully, Monet did not mention how right she was to Jubilee or anyone else for that matter. It appeared that at least for now, their feud was dead, the taller girl rarely saying anything to her. The sisters knew there was real trouble when they caught her late one afternoon with a little fire in the fire pit, slowly tossing in her brightest, flirtiest clothing one piece at a time and watching them burn. Over the next week or so, every accessory, and cute piece of clothing found it's way into the garbage or the goodwill pile. She quit doing her makeup, quit styling her hair, and quit talking to her friends. No one could get her out of the room, and even Paige, who shared a room with her, couldn't get her to talk to her. She was walking around head to toe in black, formless clothing that draped her from chin to toes, carefully avoiding others, but attempting to shadow K when she saw her, keeping some distance, as if she was afraid suddenly of the little feral woman.

"Well, at least she's not as hard to find as K was when she got into a funk." Chloe said quietly one afternoon. Zoe's eyes lit up.

"That's it. She needs to talk to K. Maybe she can help. She's been through this." Zoe said, quickly slipping off to try to tell Mrs. Summers. It would be another couple days before Jubilee would take the initiative and talk to her mentor's wife – at first being reluctant simply because she was around other people. When she finally did talk to her, she came back to the house looking somehow, lighter. She started not showing up at dinner, still avoiding her friends, opting instead to spend an abundance of time with Logan's little family.

That finally started to ebb though when they began to fall closer to their normal routine. She began to find herself getting nervous, Logan and K's affection was starting to make her uncomfortable when he'd manhandle K a little for a kiss, or his hands would wander aggressively when they embraced. It didn't matter that K clearly loved it, and that they were simply playing. The thought of a man handling _her_ like that simply turned her stomach. She began to have nightmares, little flashbacks of what had happened, the worst of which was the one where she'd imagined Logan in place of her rapist.

That was bad enough, but when she woke up that morning in the boat house, after having passed out on the couch there, with him greeting her innocently while he made breakfast, she felt guilty, realizing she needed to space herself from the couple before she couldn't look at him anymore. It was time to go back into therapy.

…...

The summer so far had been terribly boring. Nothing but chores and private lessons in the danger room. It seemed that every teacher there was going to take full advantage of the terms of their punishment and there was no shortage of work to be done. The sisters were wallowing in their room. Jubes hadn't spoken more than a word or two to them at a time in weeks. Sam hadn't been allowed to come visit after her parents busted her for being out after curfew the night of the rave either. Lucky for her, they didn't know that Zoe had been there too or she likely would not have been allowed to return to Xaviers at all.

Which, is precisely why they were speechless when Jubes poked her head into their door with a fresh haircut, and new earrings asking if they'd help her pick out the right shoes to match her new outfit.

"I'm going out with Emmett tonight." she said with no fanfare.

"Wait – _what?_" Zoe asked as Chloe stared at her open mouthed. Jubes just looked at them as if they were out of line.

"Hey, if it's a big deal, just forget it." she said, retreating and heading to her room. They shared a look before chasing after her.

"NO! We'd be glad to help, just – you surprised us." Chloe said, a weak smile on her face as they made it to Jube's room a few steps behind her. The girls caught up as they helped Jubilee get ready for what she swore wasn't a date, however, when she stepped out of the bathroom in her new dress, fresh makeup and just the right pair of black heels, she sure looked like she as going OUT. The three of them headed downstairs, the sisters shocked to see K standing behind Logan, looking like she'd been busted as Jubes appeared with a grin. She wasted no time, just grabbing a bottle of water and giving Logan a peck on the cheek before she and Emmett disappeared. The door was barely closed before Logan spun on K, grilling her on why Jubes was headed out with that boy before the little family disappeared themselves.

"You think she set this all up?" Chloe asked her sister. Zoe shook her head slowly.

"No tellin'. Maybe. I know she wanted Jubes to cheer up." Zoe replied.

"Maybe I should start moping around." Paige cut in, staring out the window as K and Logan disappeared. The girls laughed together, making a point to leave the kitchen before someone decided to make them wash windows or something.

Two week before school started, all the kids that had been busted at the rave were shocked when Mr. Summers lifted their punishment, telling them to enjoy what was left of the break before school started, promising much harsher consequences should they get busted again. It was just as well. All the teachers were trying to prep for the new year. None of them had time to come up with chores.

The first day of school was always busy. Kids double checking their schedules, Teachers trying just as hard as the kids to get back into the flow, new kids that were scared and clueless and of course, all the postings for extra classes – K's riding class, the survival 'club', debate clubs, and new this year, women's self defense. The girls looked grim as Jubilee's eyes wandered to that sheet. They were apprehensive to what her reaction would be. She bit her lip, let out a deep breath and signed up, the sisters and most of the other girls following suit.

"What's different about this over combat?" Chloe asked as the girls made it into the kitchen, K's back to them as they entered.

"This is stuff you learn when you're much smaller than your attacker." K said, surprising the girls as they realized she was there.

"So, Logan's not teaching the class then?" Zoe asked, confused now as to who would handle it.

"Oh, we're teaching it together." she replied.

"Is this because of what happened over the summer?" Zoe asked. K just nodded. No further explanation was really needed as the girls added their names to the sheet.

…...


	26. Private Lessons

No one knew what to expect from the new self defense class. The boys of the Institute were incredibly curious, dying to know what magic voodoo the girls got to learn and they didn't. Was Wolverine going to teach them some far-eastern pressure point based combat? Or, was K going to just hand out riding crops and torture devices from the barn? The students were gathered early, ready to see what it was all about. Even the newest girls to the school were looking excited. What they didn't expect was the large number of female teachers that were littered about the room as well ten minutes before K and Logan made their way in.

"Glad you girls decided to give this a shot. No offense to my husband, but if you don't learn a damn thing in his combat class, that's fine with me. You may never need what he teaches, but the odds are stacked against you that one day, somewhere you may need to know this." K said, making eye contact with each and every girl or woman in the room. Logan seemed to be doing the same, the two of them showing a front of solidarity as K continued.

"Before we get started, I'd like all of you to tell me why _you _think you should learn to defend yourself." She said as she slid her hands into her back pockets. "I'll make it easy and kick it off. I'm little. Always have been, always will be. Makes me a target for guys – not always something sexual, I've had my ass kicked plenty of times by men who just wanted to beat on a girl. Having learned how to defend myself – both before I came here, and with the guidance of my beloved," she said, smirking at Logan a second before turning back to the girls "has saved my life many times. I don't want you defenseless. Even if you aren't comfortable with attacking someone, you need to be able to stop them if _you _are threatened." Logan looked somber as the two met eyes again. Anyone who'd been to even one of his classes knew that his philosophy ran closer to the 'get them before they get you – don't give them the chance to attack' side of life.

"So, now it's your turn to share. Tell your story." K said, looking around the room. A new girl raised her hand, all eyes swiveling to her as she introduced herself and told her story. The sisters were stunned by the sheer fact that nearly everyone there had ghosts or fears.

"This isn't a substitute for being prepared or using common sense, ladies." K said after the last story was shared. "You still have to be aware of what's going on around you." With that, K looked a hair nervous as she looked at her husband halfway over her shoulder. "Alright, love – abduct me." Logan's face fell for a second as he realized his role but then the corners of his mouth tightened as he sobered up, finally giving her a terse nod, apparently her signal to move. The girls held their breath as he let out a sigh before snatching up his wife. The look on her face when she couldn't break loose right off showed an instant of panic before she really started to fight, the sisters having a little mini celebration when she broke loose until K told him to stop.

"Jean, can you please have someone else come down? Logan's too hard to break loose from, even when he gave it to me." K said, eyes wide. "We need someone without a ton of training for their first attackers." Logan's look softened as he offered her his hand, then led her back to the starting point, kissing the side of her head before they continued. The girls in the room were suddenly nervous, whispers rolling around the room as a fresh respect for the ferocious Wolverine came back with a vengeance. Even the new girls could see this man was dangerous. Surprising all of them, K adjusted his grip on her as he stood behind her, pulling his hands to where she wanted them, Logan silently following her lead.

"Let's start with something easy." K said as Logan stepped up closer behind her, his hands around her waist as she showed them how to break loose from him using various techniques and explaining why they worked. Partway through her explanation, a parade of male teachers came in and stood along the back of the room. K told them what to do, many of the new girls terrified at these much taller men they were expected to fight off. Chloe was next to a girl that had been abused by an uncle when she expressed her concerns about the large men.

"Oh, no – you got it backwards. Logan is by far the worst to fight. He's short but he makes up for it in nasty." she said quietly. K smirked at her as she walked up, pointing her toward Mr. Cassidy.

"Way to inspire bravery, kiddo." K murmured. "She's going to be a joy in combat now." Chloe paled as K shook her head, laughing at her.

By the end of the class, all of them were feeling slightly more confident and learning to relax a little as Logan coached them too. Until of course, Phoebe asked if K could break free from Logan if he actually attacked her properly using his full potential. The room fell silent as K's lips parted, turning to look at him as she considered the question.

"No." she said slowly. "I don't think I could shake him if I had to. But, I would still try." the room broke out in fresh murmurs and whispers until Logan put an end to it, informing them it simply wouldn't happen, and taking her hand in his as she gave him a soft smile.

...

As class let out, the girls broke off into their predictable groups, discussing the class. They'd almost made it to the stairs when a familiar voice broke through the crowd.

"Hey! Zoe!" The younger Mr. Summers approached her with a grin. "We're still on for tomorrow afternoon – right after your classes are over for the day." Zoe nearly dropped her bag.

"But I thought that was just a summer thing." she replied, looking horrified. Alex smiled.

"Nah. It's an 'until you master it' thing. Oh, and Chloe? Scott's found a mentor for you too. Things may get interesting around here yet." he said with a smirk, turning tail and rushing for the front door where his girlfriend waited.

"A mentor? Who is going to be my mentor, and why would it be interesting?" Chloe asked, looking nervous as her sister dragged her feet up the steps.

"I don't _want _to do these stupid private lessons anymore. I get a damn headache after every one." Zoe complained as Jubilee joined them.

"What's got you twisted?" she asked, eyeing the sisters as they both moped.

"Private mutant tutors. Apparently we're not moving fast enough on our own for Mr. Summers." Chloe said. Jubilee looked thoughtful as they climbed the stairs.

"It's not that. It's just he wants to push you and private lessons with someone who knows what you're going through? Wow. I wish I had a mentor. So, Chloe, who do you have?" she asked, baffled as to who might be able to help Chloe outside of a telepath.

"I have no idea. Little Summers said things were going to get interesting though." Chloe replied.

...

The next morning, right after her math class with Mr. Drake, Mr. Summers the elder had her follow him to his office to explain to her how her private sessions were going to go.

"First one is tomorrow afternoon, it's the only day your tutor will be available, so if there's a conflict with your riding class, you'll have to get K to move you to a different day." He said as he shuffled through some papers on his desk and she stood there awkwardly until he gestured for her to take a seat.

"Um, no – I'm in the Friday class for riding." Chloe said as he picked up a file and opened it.

"Good. Of course you are. That's the advanced class, right?" he asked, looking up at her. She nodded in response. "Well, your tutor is going to be on a trial basis. By all reports, she's a nice person, but to be honest, we haven't worked much with her. Here," he said handing her a sheet of paper. "This is a list of what she says you'll need for your session. Most of it will be in the forest, or the stables if she can get permission from K to use the horses." Chloe looked over her list, shocked to see it was mostly a dress code – revolving on what in addition to her training uniform she would need for their sessions. "I should also warn you that Mrs. Summers will be part of your lessons as well. We're still not entirely sure the depth of what you'll be able to do – if it's just communication or manipulation as well. She and Miss Green will push you until they can determine for sure the extent of your talents." She thanked him and headed to her next class with a pass from him excusing her for her tardiness to combat. Logan hardly blinked at it, just motioning her to get into place as they practiced disarming an opponent. After class she cornered Jubilee to ask about her new tutor.

"I have no idea who that is. Miss Green? Who is she?" Jubilee asked. Chloe worried her lip. If Jubilee didn't know, then her chances of getting a heads up on her new tutor was next to nothing. "You could ask Wolvie – he knows everyone." Jubilee suggested, but Chloe quickly squashed that idea. He was in a bad mood, and every spare second lately had him and K locked in the danger room, generally with K limping out afterward. They assumed something was up, but didn't have the nerve to ask when they were so clearly distracted.

…...

Zoe's time with Little Summers, as they called him, was going along swimmingly according to him, and torturous according to her. He was making her work on her aim, and her power output. You'd think she'd found the solution to world peace when she blew the door off the Danger Room, rendering it inoperable until Forge got back to fix it. Sadly for him, his brother insisted that they work on the other side of control too, her new project trying to use her shock waves to blow out a candle. They were going through a lot of candles.

"You'll get it Zoe." he told her, laughing as he demonstrated how he would do it. She walked out of her lesson frustrated. She still didn't have any interest in joining a team or recruiting or anything. She just wanted to go to college and be a kid still. Chloe however was getting nervous. She wanted a way to be on a team somehow, but she couldn't figure out how when all she did was talk to animals. Her first tutoring session was later that afternoon and she still had no idea who Miss Green was. She finally asked Mrs. Summers when she spotted her in the dining room at the end of the day's classes.

"To be honest, I haven't met her. I do know she has limited ability to speak with animals and command them." she said as she set her cup of tea down. "You'd have to talk to Logan if you really want to know more though." Chloe was stunned. Jean smiled as she read her mind. "Yes, Jubilee was right, but she didn't know it. Logan's free right now, He's in the gym with K." Chloe smiled and ran down to the gym, anxious to find out anything about her new teacher. She found him sparring with K, both of them looking entirely too serious as he encouraged her to hit him harder. She watched for a while until Logan had enough of an audience.

"You need somethin' kid?" he growled out, barking at K to hit him already as he blocked her. He finally got under her skin enough for her to put up a real fight.

"Yeah, Mrs. Summers said you could tell me about my new tutor?" Chloe said as K's punches crescendoed. Without looking at her her asked who it was. "Her name is Doreen Green?" she said unsurely. Logan's guard fell completely and K landed a hard right hook, immediately rushing to him as he hit the floor bleeding.

"Oh, shit! Damnit, Logan -" K spit out, kneeling next to him as she wiped the blood from his mouth. "what the hell happened to blocking?" He shook his head as she helped him to get up.

"Whose idea was that?" he asked looking at Chloe. "Wait. Lemmie guess – Summers." Chloe nodded as he sat up, grumbling. "When does she get here?" Chloe looked nervous as she answered him, K looking confused now, one eyebrow raised. He put his arm around his wife's waist and told Chloe to follow him, taking the two of them to the elevator.

"I wish he'd told me about this." Logan grumbled before he turned to Chloe. "She's probably a damn good choice to teach you though. At least, for some of it." He sighed heavily as he looked at his wife. "She and I have a history. Didn't end well, and she keeps poppin' up."

"You're worried about an ex-girlfriend?" K asked, her eyebrow arched and a bemused smirk on her face. "Will I like her?" He chuckled to himself soundlessly, scrubbing his face with his hand.

"Sweetheart, if you end up having drinking nights with her just to screw with me, I will make you pay." he said seriously.

"Oh, well then – I hope we get along well. I think I'm going to love her." K replied with a grin. "She's gotta have some really good dirt on you for you to want me to NOT talk to her." He looked at her seriously, shaking his head slow.

"You're damned lucky your little friend is on the elevator with us, woman. You're in trouble." Chloe cleared her throat, both of them looking at her a moment as she blushed brightly. The elevator came to a stop and when the doors opened, all parties concerned were taken back as the woman in question stood on the other side of the doors with Jean, her arms wrapped unsurely around herself. She was a little taller than Logan, short brown hair, freckles, big eyes and a squirrel tail. She looked nervous as her eyes darted between he and K. Before anyone could say anything, K took care of it, smiling at the little gray squirrel that was perched on the woman's shoulder.

"So you're Chloe's new tutor?" She said with a friendly smile. "I'm K, nice to meet you. Can't say that I've heard much about you though. We'll have to fix that." Miss Green looked at her unsurely before she took K's hand. Logan shook his head before he spoke.

"You know where you want to do your lesson, Doreen?" he asked, clearly trying to ignore whatever past the two shared. K was highly amused.

"No, I've never really been shown around before -that's why I'm early. I didn't know where to go." she said quietly.

"We were going to ask to use a couple horses for her first lesson, K." Jean said cutting in. K nodded.

"Sounds good. Have fun, ladies. Arena is dry – but if you need to do this outside of the fences, let me know and maybe I can help." K replied as Logan dragged her from the elevator, holding her close as they went down the hall. Miss Green stared after them for a second as K leaned her head on his shoulder and he kissed the side of her head.

"Well, that wasn't nearly as awkward as I thought it would be." she mumbled to herself before turning to Chloe. "I'm um, Squirrel Girl, and this is Tippy Toe – you can talk to animals?" she said, her eyes somehow getting wider. Chloe nodded. "Awesome. What do you think, Tippy Toe?" she said looking at her squirrel, who looked at Chloe a moment before leaping to her shoulder and running around Chloe's neck, his little sharp nails making her giggle before leaping back to his owner, who was smiling at her.

"He likes you." Miss Green said.

"I know." Chloe giggled. The two of them hit it off right away, Jean more or less monitoring Chloe's brain functions to see how far she could be pushed, and if she'd come anywhere close to using her potential. By the end of her first lesson, she was controlling the horse they'd brought out for her to practice with, both Mrs. Summers and Miss Green impressed with her baseline, that apparently did involve control of the animals as well as simple communication. Her abilities being something useful for a team, however were still in question. She decided she'd wait until Mrs. Summers left them alone for their lessons to ask Miss Green what team she belonged to.


	27. Short One Feral

Chloe had just finished changing for her lesson with Miss Green when she got a mental message from Mrs. Summers. _All students please find your way to your rooms immediately. We're going into a full lock down._ She sighed as she made her way toward the staircase, running into her tutor on the way.

"What's going on?" Miss Green asked her. "Wolverine and his wife just ran out the door in a huff. And no one seems to have time to tell me what the heck I'm supposed to do." She looked irritated – at least, her tail was twitching.

"We're on a full lock down. There must be an intruder. If it was a drill no one would have responded." Chloe said. "I'm supposed to go to my room, but I'll stay here with you if you'd like company." Her tutor smiled in response.

"Alright. We don't have much else to do until it's over – maybe you can see if you can get Tippy Toe to listen to you while we wait." She offered, the two of them taking a seat in the living room as Chloe tried to get Miss Green's squirrel to behave. Time ticked on, and no one was around. Night fell and slowly the other students began to come out, but no sign of the two ferals returning. Everyone was quiet, knowing something was very wrong. When the front door banged shut, Logan rushed past, tearing his cowl off and looking completely beside himself as he made his way to the professor's office. He didn't come back out any time soon. Not until most of the students had retreated. Chloe and Miss Green were still there when he finally came out, Abbey sleeping on his shoulder, her little arms wrapped around his neck.

"Logan – are you alright?" Miss Green asked, alarmed. Chloe was shocked he'd even answer her, pausing for just a split second to quietly say no before turning and heading up the stairs with his daughter. Mr. Summers came out a few minutes later, clearly stressed out.

"Doreen, it's clear to go now. Sorry it took so long." he said, hands on his hips.

"Mr. Summers?" Chloe said quietly, Scott turning to look at her properly "Where's K?" His mouth tightened and he shook his head.

"Gone. Creed took her and we can't find her. I'm hoping you and Jubes will be able to make yourselves available – help with Abbey until we can find K." He replied. The two young women looked shocked, but Chloe agreed quickly.

"Scott, if you guys need help, I'm sure I can get permission to take Danielle here – I mean, I'm a nanny – it's what I do, that is, as long as Logan would be alright with that." Miss Green offered. Scott considered it.

"I'll talk to him, but we need to know what happened first. Hopefully, we'll find her before we need any help." he replied shaking his head. "She just disappeared." he mumbled to himself as he walked off. It was clear that Mr. Summers would sleep about as well as Logan would tonight, if he even made his way to bed at all.

…...

K had been gone for a week when the Avengers decided to send over Miss Green to help out a bit. Logan was constantly checking intel, searching for any sign of her, snarling at anyone who asked him anything or tried to get him to take a break. Abbey had decided she liked Miss Green. At least, she was tolerating her – which was more than she did for many of those that she knew and loved at the moment. She was a bear to deal with too, unless her father was holding her – then both of them were just pitiful as they tried to comfort each other. Miss Green even went so far as to step in for K's self defense class – earning her some strange looks at first, but proving herself quickly as she blasted through male volunteers with a cheerful smile. The girls in the class were really enjoying her happy perspective, and Logan had refused to show, fully handing it over to her. Jubilee was livid.

"Hey! Wolvie!" she shouted after class, stomping over to him as he opened the front door, Abbey in his arms, ready to leave for the night at least. "I know you miss K, but you're supposed to teach us self defense – you're coppin' out on me, big guy." He looked livid when he turned to her.

"Doreen's perfectly capable. Leave me be. I gotta get Abbey home." he replied shortly, a growl in his voice as Abbey leaned on him, sucking her fingers and looking miserable while they left. Everyone got that kind of reaction from him. Even Mrs. Summers couldn't break through, and it just got worse as time went on.

…...

Zoe's tutoring sessions took on a somber tone as Little Summers moved her on to Danger Room training, forcing her to use all that she'd learned in Logan's class – and she hated it. She was steadily improving, but it didn't matter. She didn't like to fight, even if her abilities were proving to be incredibly useful. Before she finished up her tutoring session, an alarm went off and Mr. Summer's voice echoed into the Danger Room.

"Zoe, don't change – we got a little emergency pick up. You're on it with us." he informed her. She didn't have time to argue as Little Summers dragged her from the room, meeting up with Psylocke as they hit the hangar. Wolverine was already in the jet, the engines on and warming up. Suddenly her nerves hit her in full. She was terrified as she hastily buckled in, the engines firing up loudly as the hatch over the jet opened up to pouring rain suddenly pounding the jet. Little Summers was seated across the aisle from her, looking perfectly calm as Zoe had a little panic attack. What the hell did they expect her to do? She was terrified. She had no idea why she was there and no one on board said a word, except a few murmurs back and forth between Wolverine and Cyclops. Oh shit.

…...

Chloe watched the jet take off, Logan had just run past not ten minutes before, kissing little Abbey before he handed her off to Jean as he ran. She breathed a sigh of relief, maybe he'd be in a better mood when he got back. She offered to watch her for Mrs. Summers, who smiled sadly and left her with the little one. She was headed to Cerebro to try and search yet again for K. The little woman's absence was taking a toll on much more than her husband and daughter. Many of the students were starting to worry in earnest. Rumors were flying that were sure to have hit Logan's sharp hearing already, and none of them were positive. Abbey still wasn't acting like herself, looking very sad as she watched the jet through the window, her little palms pressed against the glass. She knew her father was on board. Maybe an hour after they left, she went back to the window, watching the skies as she clearly was waiting for his return. She stood there for a solid ten minutes before sitting down, still staring out the window. Chloe tried to divert her attention, but Abbey had focus. She played with Chloe, and even Miss Green tried to distract her when she showed for Chloe's lesson, but every few minutes Abbey's attention was back to the window.

…...

The team flew for a good hour before they started to land. When the wheels touched down, all aboard began to unbuckle and prep for the mission at hand, only Zoe staring wide eyed at them, clueless as to her role. Cyclops was shutting things down as Wolverine walked past her, not pausing as he told her to relax.

"Come on, kid." he growled out. It was the friendliest he'd been in far too long, and even that wasn't friendly by any stretch. She couldn't figure for the life of her where they were or what was going on. She walked with the group, only to discover that they were apparently on a simple pick up, facilitating a larger retrieval group simply because the area was heavily patrolled by MRD. They were literally in the middle of nowhere. As soon as they were all gathered up, Cyclops ran down the roles everyone was to play.

"Zoe, all you need to do is stand next to Havok. We'll handle the rest. You're here to observe." he told her. She nervously nodded as Wolverine led the way into the forest. He held up his hand as the group slowly approached the campfire – far larger than any that K ever let the girls have. She was amazed at the way they approached the young man sitting there. He was clearly scared as they made their appearance, Wolverine circling around him out of view in case he tried something funny. The whole time, the boy never took his eyes off Zoe. She was shocked when the only question he had was directed to her.

"So, do you go to this school?" he asked, clearly still a bit nervous. She looked to Cyclops before answering, silently nodding her head. "And these people? They're not like, out to hurt you?"

"No! Of course not." Zoe replied. "They're wonderful. All of them." The boy relaxed all at once before turning to Cyclops again.

"Is there any chance I could go to college later?" he asked. Cyclops smiled.

"Of course. We encourage it. There are even scholarships available only to graduates of the Institute." He nodded silently before accepting their offer, shocked when Wolverine appeared from the shadows, picking up the water bucket near the boy and dousing the fire.

"Welcome aboard, now move your ass before the MRD shows up." he growled out, Zoe following him closely after he passed her. They hit the jet a good minute or two before the rest of the team. "You know the only reason he's comin' is because you came, right?" Logan said as he started warming up the jet. Zoe didn't know how to respond.

"How – how would you know?" she asked, taken back by his candid thought. He just shook his head as he snickered to himself, the rest of the team and the new student finally making their way to the jet.

"Some of em need proof we're not the bogey man." he said quietly as she buckled in.

…...

"Poor little thing." Miss Green said quietly. "How's everyone holding up? Any word yet?" Chloe just shook her head. Tippy Toe slipped down her shoulder and over to Abbey, cautiously watching the little one as she stared out the window. When she turned back to the young women in the living room with her, she was taken back by the little rodent staring at her.

"Oh God – she looks just like K when she makes that face." Chloe said as Abbey sat down, scooting closer to the squirrel. When Tippy Toe put his tiny paws on her hand she squealed out laughing – the first time in weeks, startling the little squirrel back to his mistress. They played like this for nearly an hour before suddenly little Abbey's head whipped to the window and she rushed back to it, her palms and face pressing on the glass. Chloe scooted closer to her just as she finally heard the jet as it descended. Abbey soon became very hard to handle. It took both of them to keep her from running to the elevator as she waited for her father to show. He was the first out, of course, and picked her up right away, nuzzling her as she held fast to his sideburns. Chloe was heartbroken watching him as they came near. She rushed to him with Abbey's teddy bear, Logan nodding silently in thanks as they slipped out the front door.

"He really misses her." Chloe said, not sure how to approach the subject of Logan with Miss Green. She looked somber as she agreed, then she simply wished Chloe a good night and headed out, pausing at the front door a moment and looking back at her.

"Make sure that the telepaths haven't given up and just not said anything. He deserves better than that." she said as she disappeared.

Before she could get to Mrs. Summers, however her sister appeared in a wide eyed daze – still in uniform.

"Wait – you didn't get to go with did you?" Chloe asked. Her sister just grinned at her in response. Maybe being on the team wasn't such a bad gig after all. If Logan was right, then that boy probably would still be in the woods – or captured if she hadn't been there to prove they were on the up and up.

…...

The next morning, Chloe put the pressure on Mr. Summers to let her go on a mission.

"Chloe, the only reason – and I mean the _only_ reason Zoe got to go was her high marks in combat. Meet her progress in Logan's class and I will take you on a mission the next day." he told her. She was really frustrated now. That was an impossible feat – particularly right now. But, she had to try. After her next combat class, she did what she once would have called a suicidal move. She stepped in front of Logan before he could leave the classroom.

"Move." he growled out.

"But, I have to talk to you." Chloe spit out wild eyed. "I need some extra practice for combat class – I want to get a better grade." she said quickly. He narrowed his eyes further and glared at her hard.

"Ask someone else." he replied.

"But _you're _the combat teacher. I have to ask you." she said, her frustration already overruling her fear. He was beyond ready to bolt, so she was shocked when he threw his hands up.

"You know what – fine. Let's go." he said, dropping into a ready stance. Her eyes widened.

"But -"

"Attack me." he growled out. She didn't know what to do, so she did the best she could, finding herself on the floor less than a second later. "You're not ready to deal with me yet. Ask. Someone. Else." he snarled, walking away from her on his way to pick up his daughter and leave. When she left the Danger Room a few moments behind him, she ran across Mrs. Summers as she left Cerebro. All her spare time was spent there lately. If she wasn't in there, the Professor was. It was clear that everyone else had given up, and they were desperately trying to prove them wrong. They didn't want to go back to life without a happily married Logan any more than he did.

"Chloe!" Mrs. Summers said with a tired smile. "Just the girl I was hoping to see. Why don't you take a little ride with me?" She didn't know how to respond – Mrs. Summers had never really spent much time with her, so she did what she automatically always did when a teacher asked her to do something – agreed immediately.


	28. Miserable

Time spent with Mrs. Summers turned out to be pleasant. It was in the car on the way to the mall that she revealed her intentions.

"I won't pull your leg, Chloe, I really needed a break from Cerebro." Mrs. Summers said as they pulled out of the driveway. "Logan's being a bear to everyone, so don't take it personally." Chloe nodded her head.

"I know, he's upset. I am too, but she'll turn up, right?" Chloe asked, not really very optimistic herself at this point. Mrs. Summers worried her lip a moment before glancing at the girl next to her.

"To be honest, Chloe, I don't know. It's been an awfully long time for there to be no indication of her at all. We had to change our tactics after a few days. She has to be somewhere protected from telepathy. So you know, and don't tell Logan, We haven't been looking for K for a long time." Mrs. Summers told her. Chloe gasped. Miss Green was right. "No, don't get upset!" she said quickly, grimacing and rubbing her temples as they sat at a stoplight. "We have to sift through every single mind on the planet trying to find anyone who might have a lead. We've made it past Chicago now, and it should go quicker as the circle widens – less population across the plains, though I'm doubtful she's anywhere near a city." she explained. "I swear, Charles and I are being very thorough. More thorough now than ever before. If she's alive, we'll find her. If she's dead, we'll find out what happened to her." Chloe paled, her mouth hanging open. She knew that Mrs. Summers and the professor were highly gifted telepaths, but she didn't know they were anywhere near that powerful. "Someone out there knows what happened to her." She said grimly.

"So you're sifting through every mind on the planet?" Chloe asked, awestruck. Mrs. Summers shook her head.

"Not yet. Just North America right now." She replied with a small smile. "We think she's still Stateside."

"Wow." Chloe was in awe. Until that moment, she had thought that all mutations were on a smaller scale. The idea that one of them could reach across the globe to mentally communicate was mind boggling, let alone the thought that they could sift through anyone's head from anywhere.

…...

Zoe was working out some frustrations by doing K's chores in the barn. She was just finishing up mucking when Logan appeared in the door, freezing as he watched her finish up. She stopped her work and watched him a moment. The man looked lost.

"Can I help you somehow?" Zoe asked, half afraid of his answer. He just shook his head and hesitated a moment before popping a claw and opening a bale of hay, quietly taking the initiative to feed the animals. Zoe helped him in silence, noting that the expression on his face wasn't the same seriousness it had been in the past few weeks. She realized all at once that he was bearing signs of one who isn't sleeping, and suddenly she wondered – with his healing factor, could he simply go without sleep? As he finished up handing out hay, she made her way over to grab the grain, her eyes on the ground. She froze for a second when she saw a few splatters of blood on the concrete. She got a few scoops of grain and made her way to the stalls again, her eyes following the blood, and realizing as Logan reached out to take a scoop from her that his hand hadn't healed yet from popping his claw. He didn't seem to notice. She racked her brain trying to figure out why, deciding on the spot that she'd go straight to Dr. McCoy. If something was wrong with Logan, the senior staff needed to know.

…...

Chloe and Mrs. Summers had spent a fairly pleasant three hours shopping leisurely, chatting about the goings on of the mansion, and in general, growing closer. When they returned to the Institute, they were greeted by a very serious looking Dr. McCoy.

"Jean, I know you've stretched your abilities as of late, but your favorite party trick is desperately needed." He told her over his spectacles. She wrinkled her brow as she dropped her shopping bags.

"Hank, what's wrong?" she asked, mentally stretched from using her abilities for hours on end with Cerebro.

"It's Logan. It seems he hasn't been sleeping or resting at all lately. He's not healing properly. He doesn't know it, but he greatly needs for you to 'knock his ass out' as the younger crowd would say." Hank replied, tipping his head toward Zoe next to him.

"How long has he been awake?" Jean asked, alarm on her features. Dr. McCoy shook his head.

"For him to slow his healing down? I wouldn't be surprised if he hasn't slept at all since she disappeared." he told her seriously. Mrs. Summers sighed. Chloe realized he was probably right. They followed Mrs. Summers down the hall to the kitchen where Logan was sitting at the counter, leaning on his elbows, his hands fisted in his own hair, visibly exhausted. He didn't even look up when they entered the room.

"Hi Logan." she said cheerfully. It took him a few seconds to even look up at her. Oh shit. This was bad. He grunted in response as she pulled up a chair next to him. He scooted over a hair, giving her room as he sat more upright, his hands now resting on the counter lightly. "How you holding up, big guy?" she asked. He took a few seconds before he simply glared at her.

"How the hell you think I'm doin'?" he growled out. It took her back – he never lost his temper with the lovely Phoenix. She frowned and dropped her eyes to his hands on the counter, nodding her head.

"I'm sorry. I'm just worried about you and Abbey – that's all." she said quietly. He just glared at her a few seconds longer before shaking his head, not even trying to offer her an apology for his behavior. Chloe watched as Mrs. Summers closed her eyes and scrunched up her face, clearly concentrating hard. The next thing she knew, Logan was visibly trying to stay awake and losing the battle. When his weight shifted backward, she caught him with her telekinesis, gently laying him on the floor. Within a few minutes, Mr. Summers and Mr. Drake appeared, both of them looking relieved to find Logan passed out on the floor.

"You better get him upstairs. He'll rest better in a real bed." she directed, the two men jockeying to carry him, finally deciding to haul him up by his hands and feet. As the three men disappeared from sight, Chloe turned to her.

"Is he going to be alright?" she asked, now truly worried about _him_ of all people.

"Just going to have to wait and see. I sure hope so." Mrs. Summers replied. "She damn well better not be dead. I'll never forgive her if she is."

…...

A few days later, Chloe spotted him rushing off to the lower levels – the look on his face read clearly – they'd found K. They just had to go get her. When the dust settled after their return, Mr. Summers made sure to keep all visitors away. Something was wrong with their friend, and no one was talking about it. No one was allowed in the lab either. So when Chloe and Zoe decided to sneak down and try to get a peek anyhow, they were shocked to find her restrained and bandaged over large parts of her body, looking completely dejected. Before they could get caught, they wisely rushed back upstairs to avoid what they'd already been promised to be a strict punishment.

They didn't see her for several days afterward. While they awaited a chance to check on their friend, classes and lessons continued. Havok was pushing Zoe harder, his playful tone gone now, inexplicably. He was acting a lot like his brother, truth be told, but when Zoe pointed it out, it only caused her more trouble.

"That was low. Detention for the next week scrubbing test tubes for McCoy." he barked out, to which Zoe couldn't help herself, shrugging her shoulders up with her palms out toward him.

"Exactly my point – you _are _just like him." she said with a snarky tone. Little Summers found no humor in it.

Chloe's lessons were going well and they'd moved into the forest, Chloe attempting to call in some of the creatures that lived there. A deer was a good ten yards from her when Logan appeared, Tippy Toe barking at him as he came near.

"Girls." he said gruffly, nodding to them. The deer bounded off and the forest fell silent as she and her tutor turned to face him. "Doreen, you want to keep up the self defense class for a while? There's no way K can do it right now." he said, never one to tip toe around anything. She was stunned, but simply nodded her head, wide eyed.

"Um, yes – of course." she stammered. "Isn't your wife alright? I mean, they did find her, right? I – that is, I haven't seen her around." Logan looked off into the woods as he nodded his head.

"Yeah, she's back. She just – she's not herself yet. She got hurt pretty bad." he replied, obviously not wanting to discuss it. Unfortunately, Miss Green didn't take the hint.

"How? Can I help?" she asked, looking genuinely concerned. He shook his head slow, one corner of his mouth pulled back as he tried to find the right way to answer.

"It's complicated." he replied, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. She looked irritated at his response.

"What did you do, James?" she said seriously. He shook his head.

"I'm on it." he said, his look indicating she wasn't going to get any more out of him. "Chloe, let me know if you notice K getting worse, alright?" he said quietly. "I need to know." She nodded immediately and he again thanked Miss Green for her help before heading back toward the boat house.

Chloe would be sure to bring it up with Zoe and Jubilee later. Right now though, she had to find a way to call the deer back to her.

…...

"What happened to her?" Jubilee asked, eyes wide. "Wolvie's been in a really shitty mood since they brought her home. I saw him for a few minutes the day they got her back – he looked ready to kill someone – and their whole family. And everyone they knew." Zoe shook her head.

"I couldn't get anyone to spill." She said seriously. "Looks like they're trying to hide whatever this was." The other two girls nodded solemnly. "You should try to get him to talk, Jubes. You have the best chance." She shook her head slowly and surely.

"No freakin' way." Jubes replied. "You should ask K. She's been nearly invisible since she went out to the boat house." It was true. She hadn't returned to classes and it was rumored that she was simply hiding out, severly traumatized by whatever had happened. Rumors around the Institute were, however, rarely true. The validity of the rumor persisted seeing as she hadn't spoken to anyone outside of Logan, Mrs. Summers, and Dr. McCoy.

When the girls slipped down to the boathouse to see her while Logan was in a class, they were greeted not by K, but by Kitty.

"Sorry, she isn't talking to anyone." Kitty told them, stepping out for a moment. "It's nothing personal, girls – really. She's just really messed up right now. But she told Logan she was going back to lessons on Friday one way or another." Inexplicably, they were apprehensive about their riding class suddenly.

…...

Friday was the slowest day of classes ever in the history of higher education. They didn't see K at all until class was going already, and she wasn't acting like herself. She was tense, short with everyone there and demanding. The smallest of mistakes was suddenly met with wicked correction, Chloe lost her reins entirely as a punishment when she pulled too hard on the horse's mouth – even though it was an accident. It didn't matter, K rushed over to the teen and reached down from her horse to remove the reins and ride off with them, telling her to pay attention better. The rest of the class was spooked from then on. Sure, Chloe could probably get away with it, using her abilities to direct the animal, but no one else would. Even that turned out to be a very bad idea though. While they were doing their exercises, K's eyes focused on her and she ended up nearly in tears as K made sure to let her know that her class was one where the 'no powers' rule was going to be enforced.

"Use your riding talent, or you're gone." she said grimly. The three girls were in shock, Chloe trying through her tears to finish the class. When it was over, they quickly took care of their expected chores and headed up to the mansion. As they crested the hill, Jubilee's eyes landed on Logan, who was once again in the garage. She tightened her mouth up and made a beeline for him, the sisters in her wake.

"Hey! What the hell happened to her?" She nearly shouted, her frustration boiling over. He looked at her over his shoulder with a sigh. It was then that Zoe realized he didn't even have any tools in his hands. He had been just staring at the motor.

"What happened, Jubes?" he asked wearily, and she was more than happy to launch into the story, his eyes landing on Chloe's tear streaked face as she told the story. There was a few moments of silence when they simply let it sink in and allowed him to process.

"I'm doin' everything I can, girls. Chloe, don't worry about it. She won't throw you out of class, and if she does, I'll make sure you get your class somehow." he said evenly.

"But you didn't answer my question. What the hell happened to her?" Jubilee said with a severe tone of irritation.

"Lots. Not a damn bit of it good, and it was all Creed and his friends. Use your imagination, Jubes. Probably won't cover it all." he replied coldly. "I'm workin' on it, but I don't know if we're gonna get her back at this point." The garage fell silent, the girls all suddenly realizing how serious this was, and that it was pushing both ferals to their absolute red line.

"If – if this goes bad," Jubilee started.

"Yeah, I'll probably have to leave." he cut across her. "Won't be able to sit here if it falls apart. Hell, I can't hardly do it now." She realized now why he was just staring at the bike. He didn't want to touch it. She nodded numbly and stiffly walked up to him, kissing him on the cheek.

"If I can help -" she started to say as he nodded and waved her off.

…...

Half or better of the students in the Institute were considering dropping riding classes. It wasn't that they didn't like the riding, it was simply that their instructor was so harsh. K had finally lightened up on them the tiniest bit, but she was still sucking the fun out of it. When Jubilee told the girls she was going to the barn early, they thought she was insane.

"Listen, she's not going to stab me. Blue said those bracelets of hers keep her from poppin' her claws. I gotta check it out." Jubilee said, disappearing from the girls. They decided to sneak down a few minutes early just to see how bad the talk had gone when a very pale Jubes met them halfway to the mansion.

"Oh, thank God." Jubilee said as she ran up to the sisters. "Class is canceled. I have to find Cyke. Will you two stop anyone from going down there? K kinda had a breakdown." she informed them before rushing past. They shared a look before Zoe stared after Jubilee and Chloe looked toward the barn, worried for their old protector.

"I know coming here was the best thing for us, sis, but -" Chloe said quietly as she turned to her sister.

"You ever get the feeling it was very bad for her?" Zoe finished as they started walking toward the mansion again.

…...

Three days later, the girls were studying in the library when K approached them, her arms wrapped around herself. They looked up at her as she came near, not sure what to do with themselves. She looked sad as she stopped at their table.

"Hey girls." She said quietly. "I just wanted to apologize for being such a giant pain in your ass." the sisters were stunned. "I had some very bad things happen while I was gone. Jubes can give you the readers digest version later. The point is though, I was too harsh on you guys, and I'm sorry." Jubes was the first out of her chair to give her a bear hug.

"Shut UP. I'm just glad you're here and feeling better." Jubes told her as K finally returned her hug. "I hate to admit it, but Wolvie's a freakin' train wreck without you now." The sisters nodded in agreement as K actually laughed a bit.

"I find that hard to believe." she said with the tiniest of smirks.

"I will slap you again." Jubilee warned, a twinkle in her eye as K outright laughed at her. "Can I tell them the rest of it?" Jubes asked and K took a deep breath as she thought it over before nodding.

"Yes, but keep it to yourselves. Only a handful of people know right now. And I still -" K stopped short.

"You don't need to be nervous. Blue is very rarely wrong, especially when he's run tests." Jubes said reassuringly. She didn't look convinced as she let out another deep breath.

"Well, I'll see you girls later." she said, pausing before giving Chloe an extra hug. "I'm sorry, Chlo." she said quietly. "I hoped you girls would never see me anywhere near that nasty. It won't be that bad again."


	29. Breakfast Club

The girls were not surprised when K again took a short break from teaching. If what Jubilee had told them was true, it was no wonder K wasn't herself. They started making a point to get up earlier just so they could spend a few minutes with her having coffee before they had to go to class. They were starting to really appreciate Logan as he never left her side when he wasn't more or less forced to, and when he was with her, he was constantly touching her. If he wasn't holding her hand, his arm was around her back, his hand on her knee, or he was kissing her. K might be messed up, but it was clear to anyone that could see them that he was hurting right along with her. Usually, neither girl saw her again until after school, when they would go down to the boat house specifically to leave her some baked goodies. They just decided to make her stuff until she told them to stop. K allowed it to continue simply because she liked them and it was a marker of time for her. She worried about Abbey being affected by her black moods in the long term. It was after one of their visits where K was just – off. Chloe felt compelled to leave a few minutes early, sneaking off to find Logan in the booth of the danger room. He was running the board for Scott, and he didn't pay her much attention until she sat down next to him without a word.

"You waitin' for Summers?" he asked, watching Scott carefully as he navigated through a particularly difficult section of the program.

"No." she said quietly. His eyes locked on her instantly.

"What happened? Is she alright?" he asked, concern clear in his voice. She shook her head the tiniest bit.

"Nothing happened, but she's … I don't know. Something's wrong. More than usual." she said, feeling foolish now that she had said it in front of him. He nodded then hit the kill switch on Scott's program.

"Sorry Scooter." he said over the com. "Something came up, I gotta go."

"She alright, Logan?" Scott asked, his hand on his side as he caught his breath.

"Don't know yet." Logan replied as he flipped off the intercom and turned back to Chloe. "Thanks, kid." with that, he was gone, wasting no time as he rushed out the door. Mr. Summers came up to the booth a few moments later, shaking his head.

"You're keeping an eye on her when you can, right?" Chloe nodded.

"Good. If he's not around and there's trouble with her, come find me." he told her.

…...

The girls private lessons were going well enough. Chloe was really enjoying her time with Miss Green and Zoe was starting to like Little Summers again. He backed off after Zoe did well on that pick up run and started taking her outside to shoot skeet Summers style using her abilities to blast clay pigeons as he threw them. They'd done this for two weeks running when Big Summers joined them, the three of them taking turns, the brothers talking smack while they did now. Zoe found herself really enjoying their company, to her surprise.

It wasn't long when Chloe's lessons morphed into Miss Green's own version of self defense – mostly hand to hand but also incorporating animals into the mix as a kind of attack force in her favor. Chloe was amazed at how much Miss Green could do with an army of squirrels. She realized soon that her ability had more potential as she called in a black bear by chance. Within a few minutes, the squirrels Miss Green had asked for were all gone, Tippy Toe shaking on her shoulder as Chloe made friendly with the bear.

"OK. I gotta admit. Predators could be very useful." Miss Green said as Chloe scratched the bear behind the ears, the bear closing it's eyes as she found all his itchy spots. The bear was on it's back, covering his nose with his forepaws when Logan walked up to the scene, stopping a few feet away from Miss Green, crossing his arms and tipping his head as he watched her play with the bear.

"This don't seem fair. She's got squirrels and you got a bear?" he said suddenly, starling Chloe. She hadn't realized he was even standing there. She spun to see him quickly, the bear picking up it's head lazily and growling when he spotted Logan. He looked down his nose at the bear a moment, not unfolding his arms. "You don't want to try it, pal." he said to the bear, narrowing his eyes at it. Chloe had lost her concentration and the bear simply rolled back upright and huffed, turning toward Logan and snapping his jaws with a pop – a clear sign of aggression. Logan responded by growling low. The two women suddenly concerned that this was going to devolve until the bear scurried off back into the woods. As they watched it's retreating form, Logan broke the silence, not taking his eyes from the bear until it was well into the trees.

"You still want some coaching for your combat class?" Logan asked, his eyes rolling to her at the end of his question. Chloe was taken off guard and just nodded silently. "Good. I'm free tomorrow during your study period." Chloe grinned and thanked him, promising to be on time.

"But don't you usually stick with K on your free times?" Chloe asked.

"She's doin' a lot better now. I don't think there's much to worry about now." he replied.

"What, did she have a miraculous recovery?" Miss Green asked, truly curious.

"Somethin' like that." he said, a little smirk pulling at his mouth. When he was gone, she grilled Chloe on what was going on, though she couldn't answer much.

…...

The idea of private lessons with Logan was both thrilling and terrifying. The one session Zoe had with he and Sam in the Danger room last year was enough that Zoe felt the need to make it clear that she had no intentions of doing that again unless she was forced to. She made it sound awful. So when Chloe showed up after English class, ready to fight, she was surprised to find Logan, totally relaxed in the booth as he set up their program.

"What are we doing?" she said quietly, knowing he'd hear her even if she were to whisper.

"_I _am going to watch while you show me what you've learned. Doreen said you were training with her, so I'd like to see what she's taught you first." he replied as the door to the room slammed shut behind her. "Anytime, kid." he told her as he leaned back in his chair, arms folded. She took a nervous breath as the scenery around her shifted to a very scary looking trashed factory. The space was wide open but there were piles and stacks of steel and debris littered all around her. She didn't know what to do so she simply started to walk when a generic man dressed in black rushed her. IN a panic, she jumped back before taking the offensive, coming at the guy like he'd threatened her family, viciously going for all the hot spots Miss Green had taught her, dropping him with a few blows.

Logan was intrigued as he unfolded his arms and leaned forward now, his brow wrinkled in concentration as she continued her walk through. Whatever he was expecting from the soft spoken girl, it sure as hell wasn't this. She did incredibly well, even when he had two attackers going at her at the same time. She could stop them. She was focused, but not exactly angry. More like she knew she had something to prove. He'd seen the same determination from her tutor, Miss Green.

"Why don't you do that in my class?" he asked as she kicked her last attacker in the neck. She was out of breath and Logan didn't actually want to see her hurt as he shut down the simulation.

"I don't know. I guess I didn't want to draw attention to myself." she replied.

"Wherever it is you go in your head – do that in class." He said seriously. "Now, I can work with you." The door opened and she waited, knowing he was coming in to work her over now. She was nervous, but by the time he was done with her, she felt like she'd done well.

…...

"We're going down to see K in the morning." Zoe said to her sister when she closed their bedroom door behind her.

"Why? What's up?" Chloe asked.

"Jubes said she overheard Dr. McCoy saying she was too skinny. She needs someone to make sure she's eating enough. That's us." Zoe replied as she tossed her bouncy ball against the wall while she laid on her bed, her head hanging over the edge.

Chloe watched her sister's ball tossing for a second before rushing out the door again, running flat out to try and catch Logan. She didn't want to piss him off first thing in the morning. She barely caught him before he left.

"Logan! Wait – Zoe wants to bring K some muffins or something in the morning – is that OK?" she asked in a breathless rush. He actually thought it over a moment and surprising her, nodded his head.

"Yeah. Give it a shot. See how she handles you." he said, Chloe grinning as he simply turned and left.

…...

The girls were up at five baking, picking the prettiest of their work out for their friend, under the delusion that she would suddenly inhale half a dozen chocolate chip muffins.

When they timidly knocked on the door to the boat house, they were surprised that the pair was already up and drinking coffee, Abbey playing in the living room.

"Thought we'd bring you the good ones before everyone got into them." Zoe said to K with a grin. This was new territory this first thing in the morning attempt. They didn't know it, but K hadn't been doing more than pick at what they'd been leaving her up to that point. She wasn't terribly comfortable with it – it seemed as if it had a very 'Hansel and Gretel' vibe, random baked goods on her doorstep.

Zoe had to set one in front of her, and even then she just stared at it.

"I'm only going to eat this if you have one too." K finally said, a smug look on her face as she sipped her coffee, both hands on her mug, elbows on the table. The sisters shared a look and grinned. This was so much better than just leaving them. They began to tell her all about what was going on with the students of the mansion, Logan smirking to himself in the living room with Abbey as the girls gossiped to K, who truly looked as though she couldn't have cared about what trouble Quire or his little buddies were causing if she was paid to.

The scene replayed itself a few days later. When they were discussing what to bake for their next trip to the boat house, Jubilee's ears perked up.

"What are you two doing?" she asked, her eyebrow arched.

"We're baking for K." Zoe said.

"And bringing it to her in the mornings. We sit and chat with her until she's eaten one of whatever we've made. It's pretty funny. I'm kind of thinking she doesn't have the same tastes we do." Chloe added.

"You should come. Logan just plays with Abbey most mornings while we pester K." Zoe threw in.

"When do you leave?" Jubilee asked with a smile, a little irritated that she hadn't thought to do something similar already.

When they arrived with Jubes, Logan looked shocked at first to see her, then made a point to tell her to just let herself in. Not thinking that it would apply when the sisters were with her, they continued to knock until he set them straight, grumpily heading back to his coffee. The visits had become almost a daily affair and it was clear that the only reason Logan was putting up with it was because he thought it might help his wife. He was over it after the first visit.

With Logan's grumpiness simmering, Jubilee decided she'd have to push it, dropping one of their overly sugared treats in front of him, insisting that he partake with them. His glare in response was proof that it had just gone too far. They were shocked when K agreed with them, smirking at him over her coffee.

"Yeah, we're all having some _together_, love." K said as she smiled softly. Chloe realized that Logan had been tolerating them this whole time – and just tolerating them. She watched his jaw clench as he glared at his wife and she knew it was about to come down.

"You girls are going to have to cut this back." he declared. "Once a week. That's it." he growled out as K positively grinned behind her mug. She was using them to pick on him.

"NO." Jubilee all but cried out. "We like having breakfast with you guys. You _said _I could come by whenever I wanted!" His harsh look went down a notch.

"We miss K, and we need to keep her healthy!" Chloe added quickly when she saw the fracture in his stern look. "She got so sick last time – now it'll be twice as bad." It was working.

"Yeah," Zoe added, catching on to what the other two were trying for. "You don't want her getting sick right?" OK, maybe that was too much. His taken off guard look was replaced by skepticism. K was in stitches.

"Once a week with the baked garbage. _That's it._" he asserted. "You want her healthy? Bring her something other than sugar." K was biting her lip as she hid behind her mug, her eyes sparkling at him. His eyes met hers and his look turned serious again. "_YOU_ shut up." he said to his wife. She just raised an eyebrow in an attempt to look innocent.

"I didn't say a word, love." she said with a grin. He stared at her a moment before shaking his head. He made a move toward his coffee cup, but before he could stand Zoe had started to refill his mug – her last dash effort to make him accept their presence.

"There are advantages to having us around sometimes." she said to him, truly nervous as his eyes met hers. He just nodded once in thanks before looking at his wife with a sidelong glance, K again, biting her bottom lip as he shook his head. They could practically see the wheels turning in his mind as he relented.

"Not every morning." he said suddenly, breaking the silence. Jubilee grinned bigger than she had since she got Bobby back for freezing the sheets on her bed. He leaned back in his chair, his eyes closed, pinching the bridge of his nose. She enthusiastically gave the girls the double thumbs up, K smirking at them as Jubilee celebrated silently until,

"Don't make me change my mind now, Jubilation." he said, his eyes still closed. He opened them in time to see Jubes' shocked face, followed a split second later by her outraged cry.

"How do you _do that?"_ she barked, Logan smirking as K slid her hand down his arm to his.

Their mornings with K were safe. For now.

…...

They cheerfully continued their breakfast assaults on the little family. They were trying to come up with creative ways to hold to their promise to Logan about bringing better stuff to his pregnant wife. They thought they had her figured out as to what she liked until they caught Logan heading into the boathouse covered in fresh, still wet blood. He'd greeted them as friendly as he knew how as he hauled in a rather large looking chunk of still dripping meat.

"What the hell did he do?" Zoe asked, turning green as she saw the bloody hand print on the door knob.

"Looks like he's been hunting." Jubilee said quietly. She'd been with him in the wilds a few times, and although she didn't like it, he could find his quarry, kill, butcher and cook it faster than most folks could find a sign of it ever being there. His skills had kept her fed in the woods more than once. It still didn't' mean she liked it though. She barely hesitated as she pushed forward, gingerly gripping the bloody doorknob and letting them in.

Once inside, it almost looked normal. Logan had the meat on a cutting board and was washing his hands while K was feeding Abbey in her chair.

"Close the door, girls." Logan said over his shoulder before returning his attention to his hands. It just sounded so …. fatherly. With a side of bizzaro butcher. He turned to watch them as they came in, leaning against the counter and drying his hands.

Chloe found herself transfixed by the blood on his shirt. And jeans. And face. How the hell did he get it on his face anyhow?

"What's with the bloodbath, Wolvie?" Jubilee asked, trying to sound casual about it.

"K had a craving." he replied with a shrug. Wait. He did this on her _request?_ Until that moment, neither sister had really thought of her as being like him – feral. More in touch with her animal side. Yet here she was – their protector leaning up to her blood splattered husband and landing a tender kiss on him as if he'd just saved a kitten out of a tree for her.

"Not everyone wants pickles and chocolate." K said in her defense as she looked up at the girls while refilling her coffee mug. "Besides, I need the protein." She finished, leaning on the counter near her husband.

"So, you had Logan kill a deer?" Chloe said, looking as green as her sister. K closed her eyes as she shook her head to the negative.

"No, I had him get a bear. We have plenty of deer already." she replied as if it was nothing. Zoe thought she was going to throw up as Jubilee rushed to the window, spotting the remainder of the carcass that Logan had more or less picked clean already. Logan leaned forward a bit as he filled them in.

"That guy was causin' trouble anyhow. Broke into the barn and got into the grain last week." Chloe was sick as she wondered if it was the same bear from the other day. Zoe couldn't take it anymore. The casualness that the two ferals had taken to the killing.

"Um. You have blood." she said, trying to not look at him. "On your – everywhere." Logan uncrossed his arms, looking down at himself, as if just now seeing that he'd made a massive mess of himself. Without word or explanation, he went straight to their bedroom and closed the door behind him, the sound of the shower running cluing them in to his intentions.

"So, you were really craving _bear?_" Jubilee asked, not hiding her shock from a demurely smiling K.

"Yes. I love it. Better than venison to me." she replied. The sisters shared a look as Chloe set the bowl they'd brought down on the table – totally loaded up with fresh berries.

"Well, I guess we were off on bringing these then." Chloe said, still shell shocked. K closed her eyes a moment, taking a subtle sniff.

"Oh no. That's perfectly welcome. Berries are my other go-to right now." K replied as she got up to bring some forks over for the group of them, Abbey clapping her hands, delighted to get some blueberries. It wasn't long before the girls were telling her how their private lessons were going. She was a little confused as to how far Chloe had gotten with her teacher, and how they'd come to a stand still.

"So are you saying you need a new tutor?" K asked, wondering why Miss Green could only take her so far. Was it Doreen's limitations stopping them or Chloes?

"I don't know. I guess I need to talk to Mr. Summers." she said as Logan stepped out of their bedroom, buttoning his shirt. Even the girls could smell him right now, freshly showered as he pulled his wife to her feet, the two of them more or less diving into each other with the necking and kissing and pawing. More bizzare was little Abbey laughing and clapping – encouraging them. Zoe cleared her throat a little, uncomfortable with their PDA. Shocked when Logan peered at her over K's shoulder.

"If ya don't wanna see it, don't come down here." he growled out with a smirk as K continued kissing him, her hand tangled in his dark hair.

"Oh my GOD. That's so gross! She's pregnant – what are you doing?" Chloe spit out. Logan chuckled as he realized she was a little prudish.

"Yeah?" he grinned now. "How do you think she got that way?" he asked pointedly as K nuzzled him.

"Oh, eew." Chloe mumbled red faced as she tried to find somewhere – anywhere to look that she wasn't mentally picturing them together. He took pity on her, kissing his wife just once before allowing her back to her chair and making his way over to the cutting board as he prepped to cook for them.

…...


	30. Finding Their Futures

With K more or less out of the loop with being pregnant and watched over endlessly, the horseback riding classes got more and more mundane once K bowed out of them. Laura tried hard to step into K's shoes, but it just wasn't working. She was too stiff. Even the most calm horse was antsy under her direction and she didn't get the idea of riding for fun. She had to have a task – a purpose for what she was doing. As a result, several teachers tried their hand at helping them. None of them really meeting up to their expectations.

The girls all decided to focus their efforts on their private tutoring sessions instead, which made it that much harder when Miss Green informed Chloe one afternoon that there just wasn't anything she could teach her anymore.

"But – who's going to teach me?" she stammered, truly heartbroken at the thought of no longer playing with the animals under her direction.

"Well, now you just have to feel it out on your own." Miss Green replied. "Believe me, I'd love to stick around, but -"

"Why don't you?" K's voice echoed the clearing they were practicing in as she made her presence known.

"Excuse me?" Miss Green said, wary of Logan's wife, afraid the woman was unstable still.

"Stick around. Chloe loves your lessons, and the feedback I've heard from what you've been doing in self defense – the girls love you." K replied.

"But that's your class." she said unsurely as K leaned on a tree, her hands behind her back.

"Yeah, I'm not sure that I'm qualified to teach them, seeing as I haven't done such a great job defending myself." K said shakily, a sad smile on her lips. Miss Green shook her head, blinking rapidly.

"No – some things, some people are just too -" Miss Green started to say.

"Listen, Doreen, right?" K said, Miss Green nodding her head silently. "You're uncomfortable around me and my husband. I know you two had – something. I don't care. Really. Please don't let that chase you off." She was visibly taken back by K's easy stance. "What I _do know_ is that I do NOT want any of these girls to go through anything even remotely like I did while I was gone with Sabretooth." Doreen's tail twitched, tipping K off that she knew, at least vaguely of what K was referring to. "Please." Miss Greens' eyes widened.

"Alright. I'll stay. But only until you're ready to take over again. I really can't teach Chloe any more. She knows all I do." she said quietly, a tone of shock in her voice. K smiled warmly before nodding her head.

"Good. If you're ever free for coffee, come find me. I promise Logan won't give you any hassle." K said very kindly before turning and leaving the two of them silently.

…...

Zoe was shocking herself at how close she'd grown with the Summers'. Alex was set to leave soon, leaving her with lessons with 'Big Summers' and to her shock, Scott could actually be fun – once he loosened up a little that is. The more time she spent with them, the more she realized that Scott actually had a very good, albeit very _dry_ sense of humor. She started to pick up on the incredibly dirty innuendos he would throw out very casually with a straight face and realized that many of the things he said to people, though they sounded like him coming off as an ass, was actually him teasing them. Suddenly she found herself running some of the things he'd said in class through her head, understanding that his dry humor simply went over most everyone's head.

His wife of course, got it. As did Hank and the Professor. To her shock though, Logan and K got it too – K always prepared with something more dry and more sarcastic in response to anything Mr. Summers had to say, causing him to grin uncontrollably.

Still, she didn't know if he was joking when he stepped into the library one afternoon, not in uniform telling Zoe and her sister to suit up.

"What? Where are we going?" Zoe asked as Chloe's eyes went wide.

"Nothing big – at this point, it's just a fly by. Assess the scene. Maybe a retrieval. You two need to see how this works before you decide to join up or not." They practically slammed their books shut as they jumped up, zipping past him. He smirked to himself at their enthusiasm.

When they were fully uniformed, they were both surprised to find Logan in the co-pilot chair once they boarded. Storm, Hank and Psylocke already on board as Cyclops came up behind them, telling them to buckle in. Only Wolverine had a uniform on – the rest were in street clothes. The two shared a look as they quickly found seats with the senior members of the team, suddenly nervous. Chloe was sure her heart was going to pound out of her chest when the engines fired up, and once they were airborne, it didn't ease up hardly at all. The closer they got to wherever they were going, the more nervous she got.

As the jet began to power down, Chloe felt ill. Scott pointed out what was going on, directing video from the external cameras to the holographic screens where the team was seated. The girls steeled themselves. Chloe could see why it was a fly by. Massive crowds were gathered below the holographically camouflaged blackbird protesting against mutant rights. There was nothing but angry faces on screen, shouting and pumping their fists in the air, waving signs decrying the existence of all on board as something to be eliminated. The Avengers were already on scene.

"What do you think, Logan?" Scott said over the silent crew. Chloe watched him cock his head to the side for a second as he weighed it all out. Just then, Scott zoomed in to see a small group of angry bald headed men swarming a young man. She didn't realize what the problem was until the camera zoomed in enough to see that the man's eyes were reptilian.

"Open the hatch, Scooter. I got this." Logan said as he stood up, heading toward the now open hatch as the jet hovered high above the crowd.

"Where the hell's his parachute?" Zoe whispered as Logan simply took a step out, the door closing behind him. Chloe shook her head, mouth open as they stared at the screen. The young mutant was taking a terrible beating as the jet moved off to a quiet place to land while Wolverine made his way quickly into the fight, several Avengers rushing in to help him as they watched.

"Alright. Girls – stay here, watch the screens and push this lever when we come back to open the hatch. Otherwise, don't' touch anything." Cyclops told them with a smirk as they filed out of the jet at a run. On screen they could see Logan and Black Widow fighting their way through the tight cluster around the mutant, Beast and Cyclops slipping in behind them as they broke up the knot of troublemakers. Within a matter of minutes, things were breaking up. Wolverine had turned back toward the jet when shots rang out and some of the protesters made their way toward the blackbird – recognizing it for what it was and attempting to make their way into it intent on trashing it and anyone inside it. The girls got nervous as the crowd grew, their angry voices muted through the walls of the fuselage.

They watched the screen as it followed the team on it's pilgrimage back to the blackbird – Cyclops strategically zapping people out of the way while Storm held back the bulk of the crowd behind them with some incredibly powerful concentrated winds until her focus was broken by more gunshots. Hank had his soon to be patient over his shoulder as he rushed back. Cyclops tracked back and helped Wolverine to his feet before the crowd could get to him, stumbling and bleeding as he leaned on Cyclops for support.

When they made it close to the jet, it took them a solid fifteen minutes to make it inside, and then, only after Zoe followed Cyclops' order, blasting back the crowd that blocked their path to the jet. When the team made it on Hank went to work quickly on the reptilian mutant, grimly jotting down his assessments as he rushed through them.

"He has a concussion, Scott – in addition to the broken ribs and arm." Hank relayed. Scott nodded as he started the sequence needed to take off, Storm at the copilot seat this time as Logan grimaced in a seat to the rear of the jet, his eyes closed. It took the girls a few minutes to realize that Logan was bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds when the first of several deeply embedded bullets and fragments forced themselves out of his body, falling to the floor of the jet with a metallic clunk. Chloe recognized the look of pain from the handful of times they'd seen K in similar circumstances and made her way to the back of the jet to bring him a bottle of water – that's what K always liked anyhow. When she got to him and cleared her throat, he looked a little curious to see her standing there, his one eyebrow raised in question.

"Thought you might like a little water." Chloe said quietly. He considered her a moment and finally reached out to take it from her, a tiny nod and a very quiet mumbled 'thanks' was all it took to make her feel better. The action was not missed by Dr. McCoy, who decided that he needed to review Chloe's full record as he called her over to assist him. If she could attempt to care for Logan while he was injured, she might be a fine candidate for medical school.

So far, none of the students of Xaviers had taken their education that far, and he hoped to find someone that would one day be able to step into his place as resident physician.

…...

Chloe was nervous when she made her way to the lab a few days later. The mission hadn't given her anything to do to show her talents, and neither her or her sister had heard about the possibility of going on another mission any time soon. To add to her stress level, Dr. McCoy had never once taken an interest in her before, so now she wondered what the story was.

To say she was surprised by his assessment of her capacity would have been putting it lightly. Chloe had never considered herself to be a smart girl, however, the doctor's assessment of her intellect was high.

He pointed out that this could be her in for the team. Her abilities weren't flashy or particularly useful in combat unless there happened to be a wandering herd of orangutans or something of that nature. Becoming a physician would give her a dual purpose. She grinned at him as he continued to try to sell her on the idea of becoming his aide in preparation for college.

…...

"Are you kidding me?" Zoe said, shock written plainly on her face. "You can't be a doctor." Chloe huffed. Like hell she couldn't.

"Why not?"

"You're not – you can't... it's just not you." Zoe stammered. That was all it took to convince her. One way or another, come hell or high water, she was going to show her sister how wrong she was. She started right then, storming out of their bedroom and straight back down to the lab to tell Dr. McCoy she was available to help him whenever she wasn't in a class. In the back of her head she was thinking that if she had him to coach her a little – help her gain some confidence – she'd have no trouble becoming a medical doctor. He was tickled that she'd accepted his offer so quickly, simply telling her to be in the lab if she wasn't doing her school work or lessons. She surprised him further by simply asking him what he needed her to do today.

….

Zoe couldn't believe her sister's nerve. If anything, she should be thinking of studying to be a vet, not a doctor. Didn't she see that was where her true calling was? She couldn't argue with her right now. No, that would just make Chloe take longer to realize that her sister was right. Rolling her eyes at the thought, she decided to go see how Sam was holding up. The two of them had been spending little time together between Zoe's lessons with the Summers' and Sam's lessons with the Professor.

Sam progress had been painfully slow. Her abilities left her with no perfect peer match and her attempts to pair up with someone with similar abilities hadn't yet proven fruitful, leaving her with the Professor attempting to help her find her own path. The process had Sam beyond frustrated.

"Why couldn't I be a telepath? I'd have three different people to tutor me if I was a telepath." Sam complained. She knew Chloe had thought Sam had been whining for months and more or less gotten tired of her bitching seeing as the ability to control electricity could be incredibly powerful, where as Chloe's ability was less than useful for someone wanting to join a team – unless of course she took a page out of Squirrel Girl's book and carted a critter around with her.

"I think you need to ask for Ms. Munroe's help again. I know she does weather, but that's really close and you _were _doing better when she was helping you." Zoe offered as the two of them leaned on each other against a tree.

"Yeah, she's just so ... it's hard to concentrate with her. She makes me nervous." Sam complained. Zoe had to laugh. It was a fact. Time spent with Storm always seemed as if you were in the realm of greatness. Even as warm and kind as she was, being near her presence made you feel small. Zoe just waited a few minutes. She knew not saying anything would get to her faster than trying to reason with her. The two girls had been drifting apart, but when they were like this, away from the hustle and bustle of their busy schedules, nothing felt more natural to them. Be that as it may, they were coming to an impasse. Sam wanted to go away to college. She was researching colleges with Mrs. Summers' help, but Zoe was starting to lean more towards possibly joining a team, frustrating her girlfriend to no end.

A year ago, had someone told her she would be considering being an X-Man, she'd have laughed in their face, but the truth was, the Summers' had her thinking that there wasn't a more important job around that helped more people.

"She is one of the better teachers around here, isn't she?" Sam said suddenly. It took Zoe a moment to realize she was alluding to Ms. Munroe.

"Yep. Maybe the best." Zoe replied. It was silent for a few more minutes when Sam offered her hand.

"Will you go with me to talk to her, please?" Sam asked quietly. Zoe agreed quickly and the two of them went in search of the goddess, finding her in the greenhouse, Mr. Summers assisting her as she tressed up some vines.

"Hello ladies. What brings you to my garden?" Ms. Munroe asked as she turned to face the girls.

"Will you tutor me again, please?" Sam asked. "I was intimidated before. By - everything." Storm smiled kindly at her, removing her work gloves.

"Of course I will. When would you like to start?" she asked.

"It's up to you." Sam replied. Storm looked at Scott with a smirk before she offered Sam her hand and the two made their way outside. Storm would conjure the lightning and Sam would try to aim it.

"Something tells me she didn't come to this on her own." Scott said to Zoe, enjoying the fact that it was his pupil that was taking the initiative.

"She might have gotten a nudge." Zoe admitted, as she sat on the raised flower bed along the wall. Scott just grinned in response. To say he was proud of her was an understatement.

…...

Chloe soon discovered there were side effects of working in close proximity to Dr. McCoy. Not only was she acquiring his extensive vocabulary, she was becoming fascinated by the work he was doing. In addition to studying the x-gene, he simply had dozens of inventions of various uses in the works at all times. To add a little extra incentive, a certain Mr. Parker had been stopping by the good doctor's lab on a regular basis while the two worked on researching several theories together. At first, Chloe's presence surprised him, but it wasn't long and he was making a point to offer to check over her homework, often praising her writing style and enjoying the grin she always gave him at his praise.

The good doctor spent increasing amounts of time smirking to himself while the two young people spent less and less time on research, and more and more time with their heads together as they studied.


	31. Growing up Fast

KJAX - Looks like it's just you and me my dear. Thanks for the review on the last chapter ... I'm figuring out how to get these girls to where I can close this one down. They're needed in another story and I can't let them appear until their lives are in order here. ;)

* * *

The sisters were having a late breakfast with K and Abbey, Logan was due to return from a long mission anytime. Even though she was more or less on full rest, she wasn't accepting visitors most of the time – tolerating people really only when they were offering to distract Abbey long enough for her to rest. It seemed this time around she was more miserable than before – that, or they were finally seeing how hard this was on her. They had just spent the last hour and a half gossiping about the news of Kitty and Piotr's engagement and raving about their progress with their abilities – Chloe entirely wrapped up in her work assisting Hank in the lab while they played with Abbey – K laying on the couch, clutching a pillow and listening attentively.

"So," K said as she readjusted herself, trying vainly to get comfortable while the babies got into a kicking contest. "You and Parker, eh? When did that start up?" Chloe blushed deep crimson as she stammered and her sister grinned at her. It was painfully obvious that her lab work had progressed to something else, especially seeing as she wasn't entirely up to date on Dr. McCoy's research.

"We're not really … he's helping me study." she replied, her cheeks burning. K raised an eyebrow as she smirked – the closest the girls had seen to a smile on the woman in weeks. Chloe shook her head biting her lip as K continued to simply stare at her, waiting for a real response.

"Alright. I like him, OK? Is that what you wanted to hear?" Chloe said, K grinning genuinely at her admission.

"That was way too easy." K said to Zoe who just laughed. "So, when's the wedding?" K teased.

"Shut. Up. We haven't even gone out." Chloe said, finally laughing along with her.

"So ask him. He's shy." K told her. "Unless he's got his mask on." Zoe's head whipped to her.

"You know who he is – I mean, you know what he does? Did Logan tell you?" Zoe asked. She had no idea and Chloe wasn't about to tell her, taking her promise to keep it quiet very seriously.

"Of course I do – and he didn't have to tell me." K replied, tapping the side of her nose. "Hard to miss."

"Well – who is he?" Zoe asked. K just laughed.

"No way. If your sister hasn't even told you, I'm not going to." K chuckled. "You're a smart girl. Figure it out." Chloe smiled at K as she laid her head down again. She hadn't been talking with them for long, but she looked completely whipped. She looked so frail that even though the girls had plans for other things, they just didn't want to leave her alone. They found excuses to stick around, Chloe playing with Abbey, Zoe offering to make K a bite to eat as she fought to keep her eyes open.

Suddenly K picked her head up and pushed herself to a more upright position, rubbing the side of her belly and looking miserable. The girls froze, afraid that she was going to have the babies with Logan off who knows where. A few minutes later, she relaxed again and asked Zoe to bring her a glass of water. She was halfway through it when the front door opened and Logan strode in wearing a sweatsuit, the remains of his uniform in his hand. He greeted them curtly and made a beeline to his wife, kissing her and taking a seat nearby as the girls said goodbye, the sisters making their guesses as to when the babies would make their appearance.

Two hours later, they were sitting in the living room, Zoe working on her math and Chloe carefully going over her thesis for Dr. McCoy's class when Mrs. Summers ran past. They shared a look, knowing that it probably meant today was the day. They waited to see them go past, but they never did. Curiosity getting the better of them, they headed down to the boat house to find only Mrs. Summers rocking Abbey to sleep in her arms.

"Where's K?" Chloe asked. They couldn't have gone to a regular hospital, right?

"In surgery. There was a problem." she replied. "Just go back to your studies, ladies. I promise I'll let you know as soon as I know what's going on." The two sisters turned right back around, but hadn't missed the look of concern on Mrs. Summers' face. Whatever had gone wrong had to be very bad. When they got to the house, they clued in Jubilee, who was until just then playing pool with Mr. Drake. She knew exactly what to do, rushing down to the lab, peeking through the window trying to get an idea of what was happening. It was too bad for her that she couldn't see anything at all. All she saw was a blue curtain in the windows of the OR. The sisters wanted to head upstairs and avoid trouble, but Jubilee was being bullheaded.

"You guys can go up if you want, but I'm going to be here until I know everyone is alright." she told them.

"We're going to get in trouble." Chloe argued. Jubilee scoffed.

"Please. They're like family. No one is going to give us trouble." Jubilee replied as the sound of alarms started sounding off in the lab. All eyes toward the door waiting for some kind of sign. There was no indication of anything good bad or ugly until the alarms went off and Mr. Wagner slowly walked out looking very grim, tearing off the scrubs he wore as he approached the door. He spotted the girls standing there and gave them a tight smile.

"Girls." he said. "I am guessing you vant to know how your friend is." They nodded, Jubilee bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I'm afraid she's not up for visitors yet. But, if you are all very quiet, I'm sure Henry vill let you take a peek." he said with a true smile.

…..

When they first stepped into the lab, the first thing that hit them was amazingly, the scent of blood. Even to their noses it was heavy in the air. Celia was just bringing the babies out, Logan following pushing the gurney K was sleeping on. They stopped in their tracks, holding their breath as Celia finished putting the leads and monitors on K. She looked so tiny.

They waited for Logan to acknowledge them before cautiously walking over to him.

"Is she alright?" Jubilee asked as he leaned back in his chair.

"She will be." he replied as he ran his hand over her hair. She was pale and drawn, though it almost looked as though the color was returning to her cheeks right before their eyes. Hank stepped out from the OR looking worn, blood soaked into his scrubs and staining his fur. To someone that didn't know him, he could have come off as looking positively terrifying.

"Let her rest, girls. You can see her tomorrow." Hank told them. The sisters nodded, but Jubilee rushed forward and gave Logan a kiss on the cheek, pausing to sneak a peek at the little ones next to him.

"Oh, Wolvie." she said, stopping dead in her tracks as she looked at the tiny baby with the blue cap. "He looks just like you." Logan looked worn as he smiled warmly.

"Yeah. Poor kid. She'll be happy to see it though. She was worried." The girls couldn't resist but to sneak a peek too, both of them convinced that K would be happy with her work.

…...

The next day, Peter had come to Hank's lab for their usual time together. He was surprised to find Logan there with K, holding a baby. He didn't say anything to Logan, just slipped past him to Henry's office, surprised to find Chloe not there as usual.  
"AH! Mr. Parker! Did you take the time to take a peek at our newest residents?" he said, beaming at the young man. Peter shifted awkwardly in place.  
"No – I don't think Logan wants me anywhere near his baby." Peter replied, hands in his pockets.

"Nonsense." Hank argued. "It's too hard for him to hold both at once anyhow, come, meet the twins."

Ten minutes later when Chloe finally made it to the lab, she was stunned to see K awake, lying on her side smiling as her husband held her hand, Dr. McCoy and Peter each holding one of the new babies.

"Are we passing them around now?" Chloe asked, peeking over Peter's shoulder at K and Logan's new son.

"No, we're just tryin' to make Pete here uncomfortable." K replied. "It's really my only entertainment until Hank gives James and I a clean bill of health. Rose already got the green light to leave. A day old and she's got Blue's favor." Logan leaned down to kiss his wife. She'd been through a lot in the last twenty four hours.

"Yeah, about that? My comfort level is totally gone. Getting nervous now – Logan..." Peter said with an audible shake to his voice as Logan stood up and took the newborn from him, handing him off to his mother as the little boy became restless. Peter and Chloe took a moment to watch as K nuzzled the child, settling him down quickly before they headed to the lab.

"So, a little warning on that would have been nice." Peter said after the door closed behind them. "Wolverine as a dad is scary. Can you imagine what it's going to be like for the poor sap that falls for one of his daughters?" Chloe had to laugh. Abbey was so small that to look forward to what life would be like by the time she was dating was a bit mind boggling.

The duo awkwardly sat down and got to work, though Chloe couldn't quite focus on the task at hand, her mind leaning toward following K's advice and simply asking Peter out. She had nearly worked up the nerve when the unexpected happened.

"Um, hey – I have a question for you, but you don't have to answer me right away – take your time to think about it if you want to." Peter said as he put down his pen and looked toward her, slightly nervous but also a bit determined. She set her pen down and turned to face him, showing him he had her undivided attention.

"I have really enjoyed working with you, and I don't - well, I don't really do this." he started, acting more nervous the more he spoke. "You think that maybe, you know, if you're free, and I'm not screwing up your study time or anything – would you like to maybe go catch a movie?" She was surprised, but tried to play it cool – she didn't want to look like some starry eyed high schooler – wait. Nevermind. Too late for that.

"Sounds great – um, but you know, to clarify – are you talking about a date?" she asked, nervous now about his answer.

"Well, yeah, unless you don't want to – you know. It could be just as friends. Whatever." Peter said quickly, his attempt at nonchalance falling flat.

"No! A date is good. So, Friday?" she asked, hoping he'd be as eager as she was to get together.

"Yes. Seven alright?" he asked, a smile growing on his face.

"Seven's perfect."

…...

Zoe was beside herself at the news. All Chloe wanted to do was get K's advice, though she thought that was out of the realm of possibility since she was certainly busy with the twins and Abbey.

"Come on, Chlo – you have to tell me now. Who is he?" Zoe asked, her face twisted into the most insane begging pleading mess Chloe had ever seen.

"No. I promised I wouldn't tell."

"But you're going on a date. With a superhero! PLEASE." Zoe tried, even Sam thought she was overplaying it.

"Then you know I'll be safe." Chloe countered. "So don't worry about who he is." Jubilee was nearly beside herself laughing when Logan passed by. On seeing him, she jumped up, calling his name.

"Wolvie! Hey! I gotta tell you something – funniest thing you'll hear all day." Jubilee giggled as he came to a stop to listen to her.

"Well tell me quick, I gotta check in with K – she said Hank's cuttin' her loose or she's gonna cut him." he said with a smirk.

"I guess that means she's feeling better." Zoe mumbled.

"Chloe is going on a _date_ Friday night … with Parker." Jubilee said with a grin. Logan's eyebrow raised a little as he turned to see a very red faced Chloe.

"Well, have fun if you can." he muttered to Chloe "Hope ya like kiddie movies. He's probably gonna take ya to a Disney film." he said over his shoulder sending Jubilee into fresh fits of laughter as he continued on his way.

"He's right!" she howled, holding her sides. Ugh. When she got on a roll about something, there was no stopping her.

…...

Chloe nervously put the finishing touches on her makeup. Her hair was already perfect and her dress was absolutely adorable on her – teal in color so it set off her eyes and hair beautifully curled. Her dress hit about two inches over her knees, so she could show off a little leg and when she spun it actually twirled. It was very cute without being too dressy or forward. She was torn waiting for him to show trying to choose between a shawl and her jean jacket. In the end she opted for the jacket just so she could carry her ID and a little cash (just in case) without needing a purse. When she turned the corner at the bottom of the stairs, he was waiting for her with a grin. Mr. LeBeau and Mr. Cassidy were standing with him when she appeared, both of them looking surprised at her dress.

"Jolie petit fille – hey, Parker – best be keepin' yo hands to yo'self. Dis one here spent time livin' on de run wit Wolverine's femme. She gon drop you if you get too fresh!" Mr. LeBeau warned as Mr. Cassidy shook his head. Peter looked a little taken back by the warning as he and Chloe headed out the door.

"Back by midnight, lad!" Mr. Cassidy shouted out. "Unless you want tae be hunted down." the door shut behind them loudly in the empty night. As they left the mansion, Chloes' attention was on the little boat house. She'd have to talk to K when this was all said and done.

…...

The date was … alright. As far as awkward nervous social situations go. Peter was tripping over himself trying to be polite and accommodating. Chloe was quiet as her nerves got the best of her. Then halfway through the thing, it was almost like he got a hold of himself. He reached over to her and took her hand in his, resolutely not looking at her as he did so – apparently his way of keeping his nerves to a minimum. Before too long, they'd gotten somewhat cozy and she was starting to really enjoy herself. The date went quickly after that, and before she knew it, he had to get her back. When he walked her up to the door, she was wondering how it had gone – not enough actual dates under her belt to be a solid judge. As he said goodnight he finally pulled his nerve up and gave her a quick chaste kiss. He looked almost sick when he pulled back, but that was washed away when she smiled at him, thanking him for the movie and deciding to return the favor – a quick kiss on the cheek this time as she wished him a good night and slipped through the door. Only time would tell if he'd be back for another shot.

…...

Zoe was beside herself when Chloe spilled the details of the date. Declaring it a high success since she got a superhero to kiss her, and now that she's been kissed, she had to tell her who it was.

"You want to know that badly? Ask him yourself! I promised I wouldn't – and I won't, Zo – not even for you." Chloe barked finally, actually getting her sister to stop. This was unheard of.

…...

The next time Peter showed at the mansion, Zoe followed him into the elevator, arms crossed until the door closed.

"You kissed my sister. I deserve to know who you are." Zoe demanded. Exactly one second passed before her answer.

"I'm Peter Parker. Nice to meet you." he replied, Zoe shaking her head at him.

"No. who _are_ you?" she asked.

"Oh – you mean who am I in the spandex world. No. Not telling you. Sorry." Peter replied. "I'm just regular old Peter Parker, genius science geek on the way to assist a famous furry blue science geek that's doing support for a stretchy science geek and a billionaire science geek with a surprisingly nice genius geek with a little temper problem thrown in there. Come to think of it, I'm runnin' with a pretty smart crowd. Huh. Yay me." He gave her a curt nod and slipped into the lab leaving her standing at the elevator alone. She crossed her arms over her chest determined to find out who this Parker kid was.

…...

"Hey Chloe." Peter said with a grin, taking his seat next to the young lady currently with her nose buried in a report she was working on for Dr. McCoy. She barely glanced up to return the greeting before pointing out something she found off in the report. The two of them read it and re-read it several times before he brought it up to the doc.

Hank looked it over, then checked the report against his lab notes finding it simply didn't match up. They were trying to adjust the figures they were working on – all of it based off the report and not the original notes. Peter wasn't the only one a little crestfallen at the realization that there wasn't going to be much discussion on their date today – there was far too much work to do, experiments to repeat with the corrected figures, and of course, re-writing vast sections of ' paper. Back to work it was for them.

…...

When the elevator stopped on the main floor, Zoe made to step out, only to have Mr. Summers push her back in by the shoulders.

"Want to go on an extraction run?" he asked with a grin. Zoe nodded. That sounded exactly like something she needed to do right now. They went to the locker rooms, Zoe quickly suiting up and ready to rock. She took a seat next to Mr. Cassidy before she looked around her to see who else was going today. Just the two men and Ms. Munroe. Small group – all elite team. She smirked to herself, hoping that it wasn't just sitting in the plane like last time.

Before it was over, however, she kind of wished it was just sitting in the plane.

She was pinned down under fire from a radical anti-mutant group with Banshee when they got a little too close to a Molotov cocktail – both of them ending up with some serious looking burns on their legs. Zoe panicked when her leg caught fire, but Banshee quickly patted it out, even before taking care of his own, then turning and blasting the small group that had trailed them – breaking their eardrums and knocking them senseless on the ground before helping Zoe to her feet and rushing toward the plane. Scott and Storm had gotten the distressed mutant on board and were holding down the fort as it were when the two of them rushed up the ramp. It was a rough run for a noob, but she'd actually performed well. The girl they'd gone to extract wasn't in grave danger when they left the mansion, but by the time they arrived things had gotten very out of hand. The girl had been hiding, but when the small group of radicals found her it escalated quickly from verbally harassing her to pushing, to physical assault all while the group of deviants was steadily growing. By the time they'd set the jet down, they had everything they needed in place to crucify the girl.

Now, she was resting fitfully, Storm having given her a shot of morphine as soon as they were airborne, then turning her attention to Mr. Cassidy, who had already begun cleaning up Zoe's burns.

The full impact of what they were trying to do finally really hit Zoe. It wasn't about being a hero. It was about the fourteen year old girl that these generally normal men had turned on like dogs and beaten half to death for no reason other than a genetic quirk. And she got to help stop it. All the focus on her abilities, self defense … and combat. It all came together for her suddenly. And she realized that if there was just one person she could save, one helpless, terrified kid somewhere that she could help then all the work she'd been doing was worth it. She began to feel a responsibility towards unknown strangers that she could one day assist.

As soon as the girl was taken care of in the lab by Dr. McCoy, and her leg was attended to, Zoe sought out Mr. Summers.

"Zoe." Scott said, his shoulders dropping when she stepped in the room. "I'm so glad you're getting around alright. It wasn't supposed to get that hot, if I had known -"

"I want you to tell me what it takes to join the team. I don't care about college, I want in. How do I join?" Zoe said firmly, cutting across him and shocking him in all the right ways. He grinned back at her. She'd be the first of her class to even seriously consider it.

"I think you just did." he replied.


	32. Focus

Many Thanks to Retrokill, KJAX89, and The anomalous – as with the other story going on right now, reviews generally mean quicker updates. I have been having trouble switching between Chloe &amp; Zoe's outlooks and the viewpoints of Abbey and Tyler, but hey. We all have issues, right? Sorry for the long break, I'll try to push this one to the forefront for a bit while I decide how to handle the other story best.

Thank you again! You guys are the best.

* * *

While Chloe was hitting the books and making time with Peter, Zoe was hitting the gym. She took a page from K's book and asked Jubilee to coach her in gymnastics, spending much of her spare time on the balance beam, and getting up early to voluntarily run with Logan. It was rough to start with, and she thought she was keeping up with him pretty well until he noticed she was keeping pace.

"You ready to run today?" he asked her as he shook his arms out.

"Ready as ever." she replied with a smirk. Logan chuckled and shook his head.

"No, kid. I've been keepin' you at a training pace. Are you ready to _run_ today?" he clarified. She looked nervous but nodded, telling him 'may as well find out'.

She regretted it within the first fifteen minutes. The pace was grueling and even when they hit the halfway point, he looked as though he wasn't even working at it. Still, she pushed onward, teeth gritted until she simply had to breathe through her mouth, even then not complaining or considering giving up. With the last mile to go, he took pity on her and slowed to a jog, eyeballing her as she struggled in relative silence. At the end of the run, she was clearly beat, panting heavily, hands on her knees as she doubled over trying to catch her breath. Logan didn't say a word as he stretched out, and after a moment, she did the same. He had to smile a little. Kid had heart when she wanted to get something done.

When they were finished, they walked up to the house, Logan holding the door open for her as she headed straight for some cold water.

"Not totally horrible for my first time keeping up to your pace, right?" Zoe asked after she downed half her water. Logan actually chuckled at her.

"That wasn't my pace." he replied before casually strolling back out the front door. She couldn't believe it, but she smiled to herself. He didn't say she did badly. She was going to mark that one as a win.

With Zoe's increased training regimen, she had less and less time for Sam, who was ticked off when Zoe informed her that she would not be going to college. To say Sam took Zoe's decision to join the X- Men hard would be putting it incredibly lightly. Within two weeks of Zoe's unerring dedication to her workouts and training sessions, Sam chose to end their teenage romance. She thought Zoe would take it hard – reconsider college. Instead, she just nodded and looked let down for a second before telling her she was sorry, but it was probably the right decision. She was so incensed by Zoe's reaction, she quit talking to Chloe and Jubilee too.

But it didn't matter to Zoe. She had a focus now, and damned if she wasn't going to achieve what she set out for.

Scott was pleased with her progress – though a bit alarmed at her sudden laser focus. The youngest members of the team when they'd joined had never approached it quite like Zoe. They were shy, unsure – but Zoe was determined. If one of the team told her to jump, she asked how high then out performed their expectations. If she kept this pace up, she'd be on an active team in no time – maybe even before she graduated.

…...

The hushed whispers had started up again in the lab almost immediately after the trio straightened up the numerical error in Dr. McCoy's paper. To be honest, Hank was thinking that it was far easier to get his work done when he _didn't_ have a compatriot and an assistant. Particularly since these two seemed to be hell bent on canoodling in one way or another.

"Peter? Chloe? Could the two of you please come here a moment?" Hank asked, his eyes never leaving the microscope in front of him until the two were standing before him.

"Yes, Dr. McCoy?" Chloe answered, chipper and eager.

"I'd like very much for the two of you to do me a great service and sally forth in search of sustenance." he told them handing them a fifty dollar bill and the keys to his car.

"Hank, we can't – you need our help, right?" Peter replied as Hank shoved the cash into his hand.

"You two can be tremendously helpful, however, the tension between the two of you since your last date has been … distracting at best. Go. Have fun. I promise I won't discover any major breakthroughs whilst you are otherwise occupied." Hank told them. "I'm not taking no for an answer. Skedaddle now." Peter was dumbfounded, but Chloe knew a gift horse when she saw it.

"Thanks, Dr. McCoy – I'll bring you back something special." she said with a grin as Hank chuckled.

Chloe dragged Peter out behind her seeing as the boy simply hadn't put it together yet. When the elevator doors closed, he finally looked at Chloe with a look of total shock.

"What … exactly just happened there?" Peter asked, totally confused.

"Hank just bought us dinner – and we'll be returning with pizza for him." Chloe answered. His eyebrows popped up, clearly no one had ever helped him to try and relax quite like this before.

…...

This time, their date went much smoother. They slipped on down to Harry's Hideaway – the closest option to the mansion, and when they got there, the place was already rockin'. Bobby and Jubilee were hustling a few newcomers on the pool table while Mr. Cassidy got a game of darts going. The place was fairly packed with people, and teachers and upperclassmen from Xaviers kept trickling in. No one gave them a hassle, except, of course Jubilee who stole a slice from them as she played innocent on the pool table. Next game she'd bring out her shark and likely start a riot.

They laughed and discussed the research they were working on, school, and Chloe's future plans.

"I don't know, Chloe – being a doctor would be great, I'm sure – but is that what you really want to do?" Peter asked her. When they weren't talking science, she was telling him about her conversations with the furry creatures around the estate.

"I don't want to let down. He's done a lot for us and he deserves some help, you know?" Chloe replied.

"I'm sure he'd understand. Besides, if he really needs help, I'm sure Professor Xavier will find it for him." Peter said reasonably. She had to concede. He was right.

When they returned with dinner for Hank, Peter left her to talk to him about the possibilities. Not only was Hank in agreement, he was very helpful in directing her to where she might be most happy, putting his research on hold for the time being as he helped compile a list for her of the best veterinary schools in the country and arranging for her to spend a weekend with a local vet to see what life could be like for her should she head down that road.

…...

Zoe was on a quick mission with Gambit and Storm when they were pinned down under heavy fire. They were under the false impression that they were going on an extraction run, only to find that instead, it was an ambush. She kept her cool, and popped up as she'd done in training a thousand times, hands out to blast back the threat – and she performed perfectly until one of the FoH thugs got lucky and beaned her in the head with a rock. He hit her hard enough that when she blinked, she was shocked to realize that Gambit was carrying her as he ran through a fog so thick she was sure they'd hit a cloud bank.

"Easy, petit. Gambit got ya. You in no shape to run right now. Jes' relax." he instructed. "We got to get away from de trees before Stormy let dem know what she 'tink of hittin' a teenager in de head wit dey rock." The hair on her arms and neck began to stand up on end, a prickle running down her spine as Gambit's red on black eyes widened and he threw them both to the ground, covering her with his body as the hair on her head stood on end and the entire world when white in a massive flash of lightning. The sound was deafening – and painful. Both of them were bleeding from the ears as Gambit helped her up and continued the run to the jet. Zoe was stumbling – disoriented from the lightning and the pain in her head, but somehow Gambit knew exactly where they were headed. As they reached their target, Storm's feet gently touched down next to the jet while the fog around them intensified somehow. By the time the three of them were on board, Storm already had the jet firing up, the whole time relaying to Cyclops what had happened. His only concern was that all were safe, most of his worry pointed directly at his young protege.

When they returned to the hangar, Dr. McCoy and Scott were both waiting – Scott fussing over her like a mother hen, shooting suggestions to Hank on how to do his job. None of it was malicious, of course, it was just that he was so fond of her in a big-brotherly way. Regardless of the intent, Dr. McCoy wasn't called Beast for nothing, and after a bit too much back seat medical advice, he turned on their fearless leader, removing him bodily from the med bay before cheerfully returning his attention to the young lady in his charge.

Her sister was assisting him today, and although she proved herself quite competent, she also discovered quite quickly that she simply didn't have the stomach to patch up those that she loved. It was a different story with Logan and K – you never really had to do anything. Sit back and wait and healing would happen, but her sister? Mr. LeBeau?

By the end of the day, both girls were rethinking their stances.

Chloe had now all but determined she'd put her full focus on veterinary medicine, while assisting Hank as he needed until her graduation.

Zoe had to see what kind of damage not only the rock had done, but her own team mate from the near miss lightning bolt. She still had a desire to be on the team, but her enthusiasm seemed to be washed down a bit with her first injury. Scott knew how quickly she bounced back from her first bad mission would determine whether or not she'd really be up to joining a team – X-Men or otherwise.

…...

Scott Summers was pacing. It had been three days since Zoe's disastrous extraction run and he was still waiting as patiently as he could for the young woman to speak with him. He'd made sure to visit her not long after Hank threw him out of the lab to tell her he was concerned for her and that he wanted to see her when she was ready.

Now he was concerned she was giving up on the idea of joining the team. His wife had told him to relax. But, that had yet to happen. He was chewing on his lip and pacing in his office when there was a quiet knock on the door – Scott so terribly distracted that he didn't look at who was entering until they the door closed behind them.

He let out a sigh of relief as he gestured for Zoe to take a seat.

"Are you mad at me, Mr. Summers?" Zoe asked before Scott had a chance to start talking.

"What? No! Why would I be mad?"

"Well, I was hurt. I think I wouldn't have been if I'd have practiced on the higher levels. I'm sorry. I'll try harder." Zoe said sadly, eyes on the floor. "If, you'll let me, that is." Scott was floored.

"Woah. Wait. Back up. First of all, are you alright? How do you feel?" He asked, unable to hide the tiny smile at how proud he was of her apparent determination. Taking responsibility where she didn't necessarily need to. A prime candidate for a future leader.

"Well, I'm fine, really. Doc said I got a concussion, and I should be more careful, but my ears should heal up with no problems." Zoe replied. "He said I probably wouldn't have my hearing affected at all."

"Good. I'm _really _glad to hear it. Now, the next thing – it wasn't your fault. Sometimes, even the easy ones can become a disaster if the mood is right. There was nothing you could have changed. The SOS we got was a fake – a very well done bait, really. BUT, you all came out safe."

Zoe looked like she didn't entirely buy his assessment. "I was more concerned with how you were handling an injury from a teammate." Zoe looked taken back suddenly.

"But Gambit did everything he could to get us away from the lightning before it hit. Storm is incredible, but – it's lightning. I mean. Come on. How much can you aim that?" Zoe replied as if being too near a massive lightning strike was nothing to worry about. Scott shook his head.

"So do you want to continue training?" he asked. The look on her face was of total disbelief.

"O_f course I do." _she nearly shouted. How could he even ask her that? "Can I go back in the danger room this afternoon?"

"Logan's on the schedule to run it today … maybe you should wait -"

"No! No, that's fine. I'll go ask him when I can squeeze in." Zoe told him, quickly making her way to the door, freezing when it was halfway open "Unless you needed something else?" Scott grinned at her earnestly as he shook his head. She must still be serious. No one took a session under Logan unless they had to – not even senior team members.


	33. Hidden Potential

Thanks, KJAX - I appreciate the read and the kind words - Zoe is certainly determined.

* * *

With school out for the summer, the sisters had taken up their routine of having breakfast with K and her family. Usually Logan would simply walk back into the boathouse after his run with Zoe, Chloe usually meeting them there with Jubes, a fresh pot on while K wrangled the little ones.

Logan was becoming more interested in Zoes' training regime, telling her she needed to start working on some martial arts – not just the generic self defense and 'intro' to combat. She agreed with him wholeheartedly.

"When do we get started?" she asked with a grin, her eyes bright. Logan just chuckled to himself.

"Kid, I haven't got time. Between K and the little ones, and all the teams I'm on … just not enough hours in the day." Logan replied. Zoe looked crestfallen. "But, I can get ya someone good. Best really. You'd have to do exactly as he says though, or you won't be taking lessons for long." She gasped as she straightened up, eyes wider still as she grinned hugely, nodding her head – not even asking who her coach might be. "Alright. I'll see if I can set it up." Logan conceded. This girl was either truly motivated or the best damn ass kisser he'd ever come across.

….

Zoe's first lesson with Danny Rand was not what she expected it to be. He focused mostly on meditation and focusing her chi, and she honestly wasn't sure he was teaching her anything at all. But, Logan said he was the best so she patiently waited for him to guide her.

…...

Chloe found herself handling things at the barn for most of the summer. The end of year exams had not been as exciting as the year before. K had designed the course, but Logan and Scott were the ones to judge it. It had been a fun afternoon, but the overall feeling in the air wasn't the same. It wasn't until Logan told her to get her ass to the barn that she even considered doing so. She was just so damned grateful that the twins belonged to him she found herself just soaking them up with Abbey. Better than that was the morning that Chloe had K sneak up on her. Or almost sneak up on her. The horse she was brushing had clued her in to K's arrival.

"They really respect you, you know." Chloe said as K leaned on the post nearest the girl.

"Who does?" K asked, not realizing her meaning.

"The horses. They know they can trust you." Chloe replied. K nodded, not quite in the mood to talk yet.  
The two of them saddled up quickly and had a lovely easy ride in the woods, neither of them really saying anything. Chloe was wary of her. She still looked unbelievably tiny – not yet having gained much weight or made much progress since having the twins. When they got to the lake in the far back corner of the woods, both dismounted and let the horses graze – K almost immediately laid down, resting her head on her arms as she lifted her chin toward the clouds, her ankles crossed. Chloe mimicked her position, finally realizing how relaxing it was after she allowed herself to let go after a bit. Before too long, she realized K had fallen asleep. She didn't want to wake her, but she knew they'd have to get back before Logan sent out someone to find them. She let the woman rest for a while, then asked K's horse to carefully nuzzle her with his muzzle.

His soft, velvety nose made gentle contact with K's jaw, nudging her. The horse nearly startled when her little hands lit on his cheek lightly as he snorted on her neck. K smiled as she woke up, holding the big gelding's face and kissing his nose, his ears focused on her as she cracked open an eye.

"Alright. I'm up. Sorry guys." K said with a smile. "Chloe – that was inspired. Think you could get him to walk in my bedroom when Logan's out and about?" The girl laughed at her, and they finally started to discuss all that had gone on with Chloe and Peter, Zoe and her training, and the general rumors in the mansion.

"If you were so tired, why'd you come riding?" Chloe asked as they made their way back.

"Logan wouldn't let me nap. He thinks I'm sleeping too much. I think he's just worried that I'm depressed. So, I do what he asks to ease his mind, push harder than he wants me to on my training and sneak off to sleep whenever I can afford to." K replied. "It'll be fine. Really." The conversation stopped for a bit before Chloe asked if she thought their vet would allow her to ride along for a day or two.

"I've already found a part time job at a vet clinic – small animals. But I want to see how the horse doc does things too." K nodded and promised to make the arrangements for her as they began discussing the few schools left in the country with a good large animal program. Chloe was not surprised at K's recommendation of the one veterinary school in her home state, telling her she was sure she could help her find a good place to stay should she take K's advice.

By the time they returned to the barn, Logan was making his way there, joyfully scooping his wife off her horse and kissing her before letting her feet touch the ground.

"Going somewhere?" she asked.

"Yeah. With you. Jeannie's got the kids. I'm takin' you out for a minute." he replied. Before she could say anything one way or the other, Chloe took the reins from her and wished them a good time.

…...

Just before school started up, all hell seemed to break loose as Ms. Pryde's wedding approached. A week before hand there were no less than a dozen runs the team had to make – sometimes two branches of it at a time headed to opposite ends of the country. Chloe, Jubilee, Paige and Hisako found themselves pulling babysitting duty when the teams had to split up – Logan on one, K on the other. They always prayed that K's team would return first when this happened. Logan simply too tense to deal with when his team found themselves first in the hangar.

Three days before the wedding, K came in first – tore the hell up. She'd gotten the wrong end of a fire bomb and Chloe was on duty helping Moira to cover while Hank was on the other mission. Unfortunately for those in the lab helping her, she was conscious when they brought her in and the pain and smells involved had her crawling the walls, borderline berserk. As it was, Jean had to levitate her there since no one could get close without getting slashed. She was too far gone for Jean to simply knock her out – totally unreachable in this state without Logan. They debated radioing to see when they'd be back when Chloe realized she could _almost_ understand what K was thinking in her blind panic. She reached out to her friend, gingerly as she would any other enraged creature and was shocked when K locked eyes with her suddenly.

"She's scared." Chloe breathed out. Moira started to chastise the girl until Jean shushed her, realizing what exactly this meant.

"You can connect with her.. animal side?" Jean asked watching K carefully as she tried to focus on the little blond girl in front of her.

"I _think_ so. Maybe." Chloe replied, slowly approaching her friend. K's heart was beating frantically – erratically as the blood loss started to over come the rate she was replenishing. Suddenly, K's eyes closed, K squinting them shut as she looked truly confused moments before passing out entirely. Moira rushed in, strapping her down tightly and diving into her work while Chloe found the bracelets to keep K from releasing her claws.

While she was recovering, Jean pulled Chloe into the ready room, locking the door behind them.

"What happened back there? What did you find?" she asked, bright eyed and excited. They'd always knew that the ferals had a wild side, but this – was it possible that they were in fact of a split mind? The fact that they may be able to be reached while they were out of their minds by a talent that involved communication with animals seemed to be making the case for it.

"I don't know, really …. I could just hear her suddenly. It was her voice, just … reactive. There was no reason." Chloe replied. Jean put her hand to her forehead. _No wonder _she and Charles could never reach Logan all those years when he'd go berserk. Clearly, the feral mutation was proving itself to be far more complex than it appeared on the surface.

"Don't tell anyone about this. Keep this to those that were in the room, and Charles. Don't even talk to K about it." Jean instructed.

…...

When K woke up, Charles, Jean, Chloe and Logan were all there waiting for her – at the ready. She'd proven herself to wake up more often than not in a feral state after such an injury and today proved to be no exception. She was completely reactive – not recognizing those around her, and both the telepaths and Chloe were waiting for it. Jean tried to reach out to her at the same time Chloe did while Charles monitored all three of them. Neither could get her to calm, but after giving them a chance to try, and K nearly dislocating her shoulder in an attempt to break free, Logan stepped in, gently leaning into her space until she could smell nothing but him and leaned into his neck, relaxing.

Charles was smiling as he turned to Chloe.

"Thank you, Chloe. You couldn't reach her?" he asked. Chloe shook her head. "Or you, Jean?" Jean also shook her head. "It's not a split mind as we thought." K and Logan both looked at them warily, not sure of what exactly was going on as Charles explained further and Logan freed her. "Her mind went to a more basic state of being – not a second entity as it seemed, just entirely focused on self preservation. _Like _an animal would – but still not an animal, which is why you couldn't quite communicate. You caught some of it because we are all at our most basic – animals. Her heightened senses drew her back in when she could smell what to her can only be described as 'safe'. Logan, of course." Logan had to smirk. He felt the same about her, and they'd proven her scent could settle him down when he was too far gone. It seemed that the ferals had fewer and fewer secrets.

"So why the welcoming committee?" K asked as Logan kissed her temple.

"Chloe could nearly interact with you while you were well – unreachable. She said she could almost 'hear' your voice as she did with the animals she talks to." Charles explained. "We were simply trying to see what she was capable of, and by proxy – how animalistic the feral nature truly is." her eyebrows were raised as she waited for further clarification. "Not as much as everyone gives it credit for, it seems." Charles informed her. "Even when you're snarling and tearing, you're no more an animal than Jean or Ororo."

"That may be an exaggeration, Charlie." K said dryly. He chuckled as they discussed it further with Hank adding his theories. Before they could get too far though, K and Logan were already making a break for it. Discuss all they wanted, but those two didn't need to listen to it. Chloe chuckled as K winked at her on the way out.

Again, Chloe thought, how useful is this ability anyhow?

"Quite useful my dear." Charles said aloud. "In fact, it's entirely possible we could try to expand your abilities to people. You could not have heard her if you had not possessed some latent psychic potential. You and I will begin work once a week – around your work schedule of course." Chloe's eyebrows tried an invasion of her hairline. A psy talent? That's just exactly what she wished she'd had. Holy crap. The possibility of her being able to join the team at some point may not be shot. She couldn't wait to tell her sister.

…...

"So – what am I thinking?" Zoe asked, grinning crookedly. Chloe rolled her eyes.

"I don't know. I told you, I don't know if I CAN do that, the Professor is going to see if he can tap into my 'potential'. I could potentially do nothing else." Chloe answered.

"OR, you could develop a secondary mutation or a power up." Jubilee suggested. "Those don't kick in until later in life. Like twenties or thirties. Usually happens after you've mastered what you start with." The sisters had no idea that was even a possibility. Dr. McCoy hadn't mentioned it yet in class.

With the chance that she might yet be more than a glorified Squirrel Girl, Chloe decided to follow her sister's substantial lead and start working out in what little spare time she had left.


	34. Moving Faster

Training with Logan was everything Chloe had remembered it to be and worse. Worse because Zoe was enthusiastic – and also because Logan had no patience this morning. He was short tempered – more so that is – and simply wanted the run to be over. Duties with the X-Men and Avengers had been trying as of late – particularly since K's last mission as he tried to cover both of their roles. She didn't know he was doing it, but the girls had figured it out. He was running himself ragged and the end result was a man that needed a break – badly.

To top it off, when they saw K she was jittery. The combination of the two of them acting skittish had both girls nervous. Did they know something no one else did?

Within a few weeks, neither girl was surprised when they came down the stairs to breakfast one lazy morning that Jean was making over Rose. They were entertained however that Scott was getting a tremendous snuggle from James though.

"You don't want his father seeing you do that, do you, Scott?" Zoe asked as she poured herself some juice. Scott smirked at her. Their growing friendship had made it easier for Zoe to tease him.

"Not much of a chance of that. They took off for a while. We get to play house with the kids." Scott replied. "So, until they get back, this is my little buddy." he said with a grin. "Maybe we'll luck out and the little guy will pick up a few _good _habits." Jean slapped his arm as he snickered.

The two sisters continued their training, pushing themselves on their runs to attempt to be ready for Logan when he returned. By the end of the week, Chloe was keeping up really well with her big sister – Chloe always having been more of a runner anyhow.

Her private lessons with Xavier were going better than she'd anticipated. He was helping her to bring forward a tiny bit of telepathic ability – and he was sure that with practice, and with a likely boost in the years to come that Chloe would be a very interesting psy-talent indeed. Her ability to communicate with animals and hopefully people would make her a stand out. Even he couldn't cross the line out of human minds. All Chloe heard from it was that she better power up rather than gain a second ability.

…...

Zoe's lessons with Danny were getting beyond frustrating. She was nearly ready to quit – if not for the fact that she knew Logan would be mad with her if she did. She didn't feel like they were doing anything yet. He had yet to ask her to defend herself or attack him. Everything was so slow motion she was beginning to wonder if they were working in reverse. The big problem was Rand had warned her not to question his methods. But here she was, sitting cross legged on the floor of the Avengers tower – supposed to be training but instead meditating across the room from one of the greatest martial arts masters of the age. Why the hell was he just having her meditate today?

…...

Jean was joining Chloe with Charles and the two of them were pulling at her mind, digging for the key to unlocking her latent abilities. They pulled and pushed, poked and prodded until finally she mentally shouted at them both 'ENOUGH'.

When she opened her eyes it was quite the shock to see the both of them grinning at her. The force in which she'd projected could not have been a passive thing done by anyone outside of the telepathic range. Chloe realized her head was pounding – and she could hear multiple voices around her.

"Did you just -" Chloe started to say

"No. You did." Charles replied. "Now that you know where it is, you'll have to be more aware of how to use it, and not use it." And just like that, the voices around her were silenced. Chloe shook her head, popping her ears. It was a bit like tuning a radio under water. But, concentrating hard, she could hear it. The thoughts of students passing in the hallway outside of his office. Her eyebrows rose as she realized it.

"How do you deal with this all the time?" Chloe asked the two of them as she tried to tune the voices out. Charles and Jean looked at each other a moment and smiled sadly.

"Practice."

…...

Zoe's ass was numb. Her back hurt from sitting in the same damn position for the last hour or so. Her arms and legs ached and she longed to roll her neck, though Rand had told her not to move. She opened her eyes to find her teacher smiling at her. She wanted to blurt out 'what the hell are you smiling at?' but he'd told her to remain silent as well. Expressionless. Finally he stood and made his way to her, offering her his hand.

"Come on, let me help you up." he told her, with a grin. Cautiously she took his hand and he gently helped her to her feet. "I've been waiting for you to snap, but it seems like you've learned patience from Logan very well. You should be proud. He doesn't have that effect on everyone." Now she was sure he was nuts. "Alright. Now, onto the real work." Just like that, he threw her into her training as the Romans threw the Christians to the lions. It was nearly as brutal too.

When Bobby picked her up to take her back, she was limping and clearly sore. He offered to ice her up a bit, which she gratefully accepted. She couldn't believe she'd looked at Rand as a pushover. Of course he wasn't. He was the Iron Fist for Christ sakes. He was tough, but fair, and he was more easy to please than Logan was – that was a fact. He praised her accomplishments as easily as if he were breathing. But he frowned upon her mistakes, watching her with a highly critical eye – not as harsh with her missteps as Logan was, instead gently correcting her as often as it took until she got her form right.

Halfway back to Westchester, Bobby had to ask what exactly she learned today.

"That Logan's 'friends' suck." Zoe grumbled looking out the window.

"You needed private lessons for that?" Bobby asked with a laugh. Zoe ignored the shot.

"At least he's teaching me some different blocking and some basic stuff. Most of it stuff Logan's taught already, but at least we're _doing_ something." Bobby wrinkled his brow as he glanced at her, one eyebrow raised.

"You mean, he's just now letting you do stuff? What's been going on in there for the last month and a half?"

"Meditation." Zoe answered dryly. Bobby laughed out loud, and rather uncontrollably. Zoe simply rolled her eyes. It wasn't that damn funny. In fact, until today, she'd thought it was a total waste of time, but now that she was starting the basics with him, it felt good. Moving felt good. Anything felt better than parking in a damn cross legged pose on the hard floor for hours at a shot. She just worried that Logan would be unhappy with her progress when he returned with K. What was he expecting her to know on his return?

…...

Chloe's veterinary ride along day was an eyeopener. Two clients in doing farm calls and there was a horse with a broken leg that needed to be put down. It was traumatic and scary for her. The vet didn't know it, but she could hear what the animal was thinking – terrified and not understanding why it hurt so badly. Chloe immediately tried to calm the animal, afraid of cluing it in to what was really happening. She asked him to settle, tried to tell him that they were trying to make the pain go away, and incrementally, he did. As the large gelding got dopey after the anesthetic, he nearly fell down, barely making it to his side without flopping over entirely. He was still terrified, but was putting his trust in Chloe, believing that she was trying to help him. Without any warning, the vet delivered the second shot while Chloe was still in some way connected to him, and she not only watched, but felt the light leave his eyes. She couldn't speak for the rest of the afternoon – too traumatized to express what it was like for that scared creature to leave the world.

Her sister knew a horrified Chloe when she saw her though. She came into their room, her overalls smeared with all kinds of foul substances – smelly ointments and pus, smears of blood and lots of green foamy drool streaks. Silently she stripped her things off and grabbed a towel headed straight for the showers. When she returned, Zoe had removed the dirty clothes and retrieved hot chocolate for the two of them. It was long over due for the two of them to snuggle up and have a talk.

"Chloe, are you alright?" Zoe asked cautiously. She shook her head no and Zoe quickly made her way to her sister, climbing into her bed and giving her a bear hug, her head on her shoulder. It took a little while for Chloe to find the words, and when she did, she stunned her sister by projecting them to her rather than speaking.

_'I was with a horse today as he died. I felt his fear and his pain – and him slipping away. I couldn't comfort him. I couldn't ease anything.'_ Chloe told her. Zoe was staring at her.

"Did you just project to me?" Zoe asked flatly. Chloe nodded. "You know what this means? You can totally bridge the gap for your patients, Zoe. Imagine – maybe one day we won't be hunted and you can openly tell your patients what you can do. You're like the perfect Dr. Doolittle!" Zoe proclaimed. Chloe just laughed.

"You know how to sugar coat a situation, you know that?" Chloe said. "How was Rand?" Zoe rolled her eyes as she recounted her lesson time.

"I think Logan's going to be mad that I haven't learned more by the time he gets back." Zoe worried.

Chloe had no advice for her. They'd both learned long ago that if you knew Logan was going to be mad, there was nothing you could do about it. Just wait and see how bad it was. Keeping this in mind, she braced herself.

When the couple returned, relaxed and seemingly back to themselves, Zoe expressed her concerns with him and was shocked when he looked pleased.

"He's got you blocking already? That's great, Zo." Logan said easily as he settled in on the couch with his wife and oldest daughter. "You must have impressed him."

"Ok. WHAT." Zoe asked as Logan smiled.

"Don't ask me – ask your tutor. It's between the two of you now."

…...

the next lesson she had with Rand was an edgy one for her. She wanted to know what he had in mind for her, but she didn't dare ask – as per the conditions of his teaching her. Instead, she decided to simply do as she was told – until he told her they were done. No more lessons.

"No! I mean – why?"

"You never questioned me. On anything. I can't teach you if you have no input or interest in what we're doing." Rand told her.

"But you told me not to! Logan told me not - HEY! What the hell, man?" she snarled, stopping him in his tracks.

"You _have _spent time with Logan." Rand said with a twinkle to his eyes. "Alright. We can continue on, but I want to see Zoe, not Zoe's impression of the perfect student." he told her. When she loosened up enough to be herself around him, training went much quicker, and he felt he could work with her strengths and weaknesses better. Much better than an empty slate anyhow. Before too many lessons had passed, his zen like state of mind had rubbed off on her a bit. She was approaching everything with a fresh set of eyes while still analyzing it as Scott had taught her, and being wary of it as Logan had taught her. When she realized it, her confidence began to grow in earnest. No false bravado now, it was true faith in her growing abilities.

…...

Then Logan was simply gone. He went on a mission and didn't come back. K was more agitated as the days wore on. She was still holding it together pretty well until the rumors within the team came out. They thought they found him. Not exactly captive, but not himself. K was troubled. Did he have a break down? Was someone controlling him? What the hell was going on?

Zoe by accident stumbled into Scott as he was going into a ready room.  
"Alright, Zoe – why don't you come with me. We have some footage to look at. We're told it's Logan, but I want another set of eyes on it to be sure before I talk to Charles and K." Scott told her, letting her into the dark room with the glowing computer monitor and locking the door behind him. She waited for his instruction as he sat at the monitor and pulled up the footage, zooming in on the bulky figure in the shadows. He was sneaky – but not as sneaky as Logan. Zooming in from a different angle, they got a single frame with their spy's face. After enhancing and zooming more, fiddling with the settings, the image cleared up to positively identify him.

"No doubt that's him – but he's not moving like himself." Zoe assessed.

"That's what I thought too." Scott concurred. "So he's being controlled then." It was silent in the ready room as the two simply stared at Logan's face on the monitor.

Their impromptu report went straight to Charles, who informed K – really simply because he thought she should know her husband's situation. She nearly bowled over Zoe on her way to the hangar, Gambit in her wake. She could have told Scott that K wouldn't just wait for them to find him. Instead, she found herself on babysitting duty a day or so later when Scott and Jean found themselves taking most of the team with them on an emergency run. She was bouncing James on her knee, Chloe doing the same with Rose while Kitty and Jubilee played patty cake with Abbey.

"Those ferals draw more trouble." Zoe said to James, earning herself a drooly smile with his tiny eyebrow cocked at her. "Little flirt." she laughed to him.

"Yes, they sure do." Kitty echoed unexpectedly. "Any bets on which of these three little monsters is going to be the most trouble?"

"Well, you're assuming they're all feral then? Is that the only option?" Chloe asked her teacher as Abbey pinched Kitty's nose. Kitty shrugged. Not a beat went by when each girl chose the child they were playing with.


	35. Special Arrangements

Chloe was up, walking the floor with Rose, who had awakened crying in the wee hours of the night. She'd just gotten the child back to sleep when she heard several jets overhead. She let out a sigh of relief. Their parents were home.

"You hear that, Rosie? You can see your folks soon." she whispered to the sleeping girl as she petted the soft curls at the base of the baby's head. Within the hour, Jean appeared, looking very stressed out as she slipped into her room where the little ones were asleep.

"Thank goodness you're here. I have to go back to the lab. Can you stay with them? Scott won't be up for a while still." Jean asked, her eyes wide.

"Sure – who's hurt?" Chloe asked, hedging her bets on K.

"Gambit is in bad shape. A few of the others have minor injuries, but K and Logan will not be allowed out of containment until … well. Not for a few days anyhow." Jean informed her. "I can't explain now. I'll be back." Her voice was weary.

Chloe didn't have time to figure out what was going on. Her schedule was too packed between school, lessons and work. It was Saturday afternoon before she realized that K and Logan were still locked in a cell near the lab and Magneto and two of his closest guards were hanging around the mansion – spending large blocks of time with the Professor in his office.

Zoe barely noticed when the two were finally released since they quickly disappeared into their boathouse with their little ones, still not taking on classes, Logan refusing to see anyone for a week solid before the two of them disappeared again.

The sisters didn't know what was happening, and all Scott would tell Zoe was that the less she knew about it, the better life would be for her. Despising riddles, she and her sister continued on with their lives, the only teacher to be concerned with being the lovely Ms. Pryde-Rasputin.

She'd started to have that … look. Until quite recently she was the most adorable pregnant woman on the planet. Rosy cheeked, perfect bump, healthy glow. But nowadays, she look haggard. Worn. She wasn't caring for her hair as she had been before – and it showed terribly. It had gone from a manageable semi-wavy fluffy affair into frizzled and tangled. She said she just didn't have the energy. Chloe took it as an invitation and she and Jubilee began spending a little time in the mornings at the boat house with her and Jubilee, fixing what they could of Kitty's hair. She always felt better when they were finished.

She gave both of the sisters martial arts tips that Rand hadn't told to Zoe – regaling her tales about her training as a ninja, and offering her opinion as to who outside of the Iron Fist might be suitable as a teacher should Rand be unable to tutor her – a very real possibility with what the Avengers were dealing with at the moment. Some sort of super secret international affair had nearly every superhero and villain group around the globe in a tizzy.

"Is that where Logan and K are?" Jubilee asked. Kitty paused a second too long before trying to deny it. The girls took a moment to share a look as Kitty tried to backpedal.

"It's fine, Kitty – we won't say a word." Chloe told her. "Just wondering how long it will be."

"Me too." Kitty murmured.

…...

Then, one night the girls were awakened by Cyclops as he rushed them to the lower levels with the little ones, the school preparing to evacuate. Logan and K's little ones were being carried by Jean, Bobby and Parker – who apparently had been there late with Hank. They hunkered down waiting for a sign – either the alarm to be tripped or the all clear from one of the teachers manning a com link and scattered about the property. Hours passed and the little ones had fallen asleep in their protectors' arms, the whole of the school tense as they waited.

Everyone was on edge, hoping for the best, but expecting the worst.

"False alarm. All is clear." Mr. Wagner's voice echoed through the hall on Jean's com. The staff and older students let out a collective sigh of relief as they began their procedure to go back to the main structure of the mansion, the watching teachers remaining in place as a safety back up.

"Going to be a long night." Zoe muttered. Her sister, Jubes, Paige, Hisako and Sam all agreed. Sam still wasn't talking to them, but when the chips were down, she still felt better sticking nearest the best trained of them.

"About that. Would a few of you girls mind hanging out in the bunker with the little ones?" Jean asked. "Kitty will be staying with them, but if they come back, I'd like them to be first out." They little group of girls all hesitantly agreed. Protocol said they were safe, but if Jean was worried about a return? Yeah, they were more than willing to hang out in the lowest levels of the mansion for the night. Hell, the sisters were willing to hang out there for the rest of their stay at Casa Xavier.

They settled into the amazingly comfortable 'bunker'. How many bunkers had satellite TV? There was no telling, really. None of them had ever been in one before. Logan and K's little ones slept peacefully when their protectors laid them each down on some very cozy looking little beds. Apparently, this was something they'd prepared for. Chloe and Jubilee picked their spots, setting up shop right next to the little ones so that should one wake up, they would be right there. Though they knew they were as safe as they could be, no one but the littlest among them slept a wink that night. No one relaxing until Jean and Scott appeared in the morning, perhaps an hour before the little ones would have awakened on their own.

"Thank you girls. So much. You have no idea. We spent most of the night with Forge setting up some new tech to make us invisible. Hopefully, we won't deal with this again any time soon." Jean told them as she dropped into a plush chair wearily.

The teens quizzed her on what the protocol was, and how they were to handle things should this happen again. Apparently, Hisako was particularly worried about what would happen should the little ones be in the boat house if an attack took place. Jean exhaled slowly, explaining to her the plan – and the secondary, knowing that the girl cared for Logan – K and the children – they were his, and she much preferred this more relaxed, contented Logan to the snarly, growly one she'd been introduced to. Even if she didn't care much for K.

Over the next week or so, they had several more fly overs, though it seemed as though Forge's disruption device was working far better than they'd anticipated seeing as they simply didn't hover or slow their flight down again. Still, when they were spotted, they played the game of better safe than sorry – readying the students and residents for evacuation.

All the stress of the threat of Sentinels was weighing heavily on Kitty. She only partly relaxed when the team her husband was part of slipped off one morning with the explicit purpose of disabling a large sentinel cache. Forge had come up with a highly complex nano-tech virus, with Stark's help. Of course, he couldn't be part of the raid – the Avengers would have no part of it, officially keeping neutral on the subject of mutants. It was this day that Kitty found herself telling Jean that she could watch Logan and K's sleeping brood for a shift while Jean took a small break. What Kitty didn't tell her was that she'd been feeling awful all day long and her back was killing her.

Chloe wished her a good night as she and Jean made their way up to the house, Kitty's com in hand as she settled in for some uninterrupted TV time at Logan's.

The girls couldn't have been more surprised when Jean rushed them down to the boat house several hours later to find K coaching Kitty while the little ones slept on.

Horrified at the scene before them, the sisters and Jubilee quickly found their way to the couch – praying that they didn't see _anything _going on in that bedroom. Kitty's anguished cries had their stomachs doing flip flops. She was begging under her breath for it to stop while K urged her to keep going, her voice confident as she told Kitty she was doing great. The relief that washed over the room when the little one cried out angrily was palpable.

They thought that was the end of it, but then K was really rushing about as Kitty could be seen silently crying as she leaned on Logan for support – and the blood. There was blood everywhere. You could smell it from the living room, hot and metallic. It was a bit sickening, really. It took some time, but soon, the new mother and her little one, and the entourage she acquired disappeared from the boathouse, leaving the three teens still in shock staring at the only adults left in the room, Jean leaning back in a chair and the couple kissing like newlyweds, Kitty's blood splashed across K's clothes.

"Why did we have to come down here?" Chloe asked, still totally horrified by the events of the evening as Logan nipped at K. She turned in his arms to face them, Logan never letting her pull away from him as he continued to nuzzle and nip at her.

"We needed someone here to keep an eye on the kids in case they woke up. Looks like they didn't, and frankly – I thought it was a good idea for you girls to see – or hear at least, what labor was like. Don't want you girls having babies anytime soon." K half lectured them as Logan smirked up at them as he squeezed her to him tighter. The fact that she was allowing him to touch her after helping to deliver a baby made Chloe queasy.

"Is it always that bad?" Jubilee blurted out. The three of them were stunned when K's eyebrows raised a little and she silently nodded, Logan landing a kiss on her neck at just that moment. "And you let him knock you up more than once?" Jubilee spit out. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she asked – clearly horrified as Logan glared at her over K's shoulder.

"Alright. That's enough. Go on up to bed. This was not meant as a 'bash men' session." Jean interrupted, though it was clear she thought it was lunacy. Jean ushered the girls out, the door closing behind them with a solid clear 'click'. And just like that the three teens really were wondering why the hell anyone would willingly go through all that more than once.

The first time could be chalked up to naivety – thinking it wasn't going to be too bad, but after you've been through it? Lunacy. They were now totally convinced that Weapon X had terminally injured K's mental capacity for her to allow Logan to do _that_ to her – hell, to let Logan even touch her after he did that to her.

…...

K 'teaching' Kitty's ethics class was laughable. She followed Kitty's guidelines, and several students in the class were terrified of her when they would ask a simple question and K would pause and consult Kitty's notes before answering.

"Why don't you just tell us what you think?" Quentin asked from the back row.

"I don't know the answer, smartass." K returned. "I'm following Kitty's notes so you get the right lesson. Not my jaded version of things." He tipped his head towards her as he conceded her point. Perhaps getting the gut reaction of a woman that had been held captive and tortured might not exactly be wise. Particularly when her reaction was to stab. As it turned out, Quentin's stupid question simply kicked off a long string of irritation for the snarly little woman and by the end of class, she'd nearly given up entirely – finally telling them exactly what she thought on how to handle people that were out to hurt you.

"If you _know _they want to do you harm – you get them first. You don't just stop them for now – you stop them for good or you beat them so damn bad they think twice before even considering coming after you. You make sure that just thinking about you causes them pain." K snarled out. "That's how you deal with them."

"Um … is that anything like what Ms. Pryde wrote?" Quire asked. K was fuming as she locked eyes with the boy.

"No." she replied. His face lit up.

"Excellent." he replied seconds before the bell rang. The class, though K was sure to have read it as a disaster, loved her line of thinking. So many of them had been listening to the Xavier approved rhetoric of leading through example, even after having been mistreated or abused by family, friends, and neighbors – many of whom turned on them when their abilities showed that K's perspective hit a nerve with them. She was right. There was nothing wrong with protecting yourself – even in some cases going so far as to make sure you're left alone to boot.

…...

As it turned out, K as a classroom teacher wasn't their only surprise. The one and only Tony Stark was picking up the other end of Ms. Pryde's teaching duties with her hacking class. Zoe was sure Chloe was going to have palpitations when he leaned over her shoulder, reaching around her to the keyboard to show her what she was doing wrong.

Chloe scrunched her shoulders up as he quickly got her monitor to where she needed to be, finishing up by resting his hand on her shoulder as he directed her on what to do next, close enough that his cologne was filling her senses and his breath was moving the hair on her head when he breathed. Zoe was right. Palpitations were bound to happen. When she got the lesson right (she never would remember how she did that part) he gave her a pleased little smile that sent her reeling.

"Is he going to be here for the whole time Kitty's gone?" Chloe whispered to her sister, who just laughed at her. If he was the sub for this class, Chloe was going to fail it. Maybe on purpose.

…..

It quickly became a source of entertainment – Mr. Stark flirting shamelessly with K and K desperately trying to be professional and tactful. She was doing a fair job of it until Mr. Rasputin needed a sub too. The class had gathered in the art room, easels set up as they wondered who would be their model when Mr. Stark stepped in the door, smiling tightly at those in attendance as he quietly made his way to the teachers' desk, flopping down and kicking his feet up on the desk while he played with his phone. A few minutes later, the door opened just for a moment and K stepped in, hanging up her flannel shirt before stepping to the center of the easels and trying to decide on a pose and making herself stand stock still while the time started on their first drawing. K tried to look through the circle of students, keeping her face neutral until Stark's voice rang out in the room. Her eyes widened a hair and instinctively her head turned as she found him. Chloe tried hard to hide her laugh, but Stark caught it and smirked at her with a little wink as he started talking about K's figure, stepping in to the center of the easels and floating his hand less than an inch over her form, K concentrating hard on not just slapping him. For the second pose – a much longer drawing – the class had to really work to not react as Stark laid out a blanket and directed K to lie down, then going so far as to place her limbs exactly as he wanted them, a crooked smile not leaving his face, even as he stopped to talk to the class, his hand resting a few inches higher up her thigh than Chloe thought necessary before he gave the furious feral a cheeky squeeze and let the class get to work.

The sisters could practically see the wheels turning in K's head. The pose he'd put her in was quite alluring, and actually, the way it made her curves shift a bit made it a difficult pose to draw. But, within a few minutes Stark was walking the room commenting on this drawing and that. He paused at Chloe's work and watched her draw – apparently it was an angle he found interesting. When he complemented her, she was over the moon.

At the end of class, K sprung up so quickly, it was almost as if she's simply materialized outside of the circle of easels. Stark darted forward as she grabbed her flannel shirt, blocking her way. The whole of the class held their breath as she turned to him with a scowl. Words were exchanged in low voices and Stark was left looking shell shocked as K ducked under his arm, slipping down the hall. He took half a second to gather himself before telling the class as a whole what a great job they'd done and dismissing them.

Substitute Stark was a very popular teacher among the students. He seemed to know everything about everyone, remembered names quickly, and teased in a low key, laid back manner. When Kitty returned to her classes, there would be more than a few students sad to see him leave.


	36. Changes

"GET OUT – NOW." Logan snarled to the Mr. Summer's tactical strategy class. The whole room froze wide eyed at the angry feral and his entourage that so clearly was taking over the danger room. Zoe was stunned at his brashness – she'd never seen anyone interrupt any of _his _classes like that before. They just heard Summers ask what was happening as he sealed the Danger Room with Logan, Mr. Rasputin, K, and a mystery woman with blue skin inside.

No one outside of the room seemed to know what was going on and after a few minutes, they were dismissed via Mrs. Summers, who sounded short and businesslike as she passed them on her way up to the control booth.

Zoe hesitated as the rest of the class left, and after most of them had made it to the elevator, she decided she had to know and followed the path Jean had taken moments before. She slipped into the control booth, quietly closing the door behind her as Jean looked over her shoulder at the girl. Zoe walked up to the control panel, awestruck at the scene below. The blue skinned woman was screaming bloody murder while K absolutely decimated her. She'd seen K pissed off, feral, in a haze …. but this was something entirely beyond all that. She knew she wasn't the only one taken back by the tiny woman's behavior when she saw her mentor's face, open mouthed and wide eyed behind his ruby quartz as K's most brutal and primal behavior emerged, the low growl bouncing off the walls of both the danger room and the control booth.

The interrogation was short, concise and according to Jean, fruitful. Scott turned to Zoe once things were apparently settled, the blue woman howling in agony as Logan pulled K off her.

"Your martial arts session is canceled this week. Mr. Cassidy will be in charge of running Danger Room sessions until we return. I expect a few days, but if it runs longer..." Scott stopped short.

"OK. Do you need Chloe and I to watch the little ones?" Zoe asked. Scott looked grim and Jean looked ready to cry.

"No – the mission is to retrieve the kids. That's why K is so … unreachable. Keep it quiet. We'll be back soon."

…...

Mr. Cassidy's rule of the stead was brief and uneventful. On the arrival of the little ones, and shortly thereafter, their parents, all more or less returned to normal.

Chloe was spending all her precious spare moments with Dr. McCoy applying for colleges, her applications including letters of recommendation from most of the staff. When she wasn't with Hank in the lab, she was at K and Logan's keeping K and the little ones company. It just felt so – normal. The only problem being that her friend was acting less and less like herself and retreating into the boathouse more and more. The girls began spending more time with her just as a means to keep an eye out for trouble – Zoe hypothesizing that maybe she was pregnant again.

"That's not always going to be the answer, Zoe." Chloe said, rolling her eyes as they made their way to see her.

"You were the one making that argument before. What makes you think it's wrong this time?" Zoe argued.

"Because it's just not what's going on." Chloe countered. Jubes just shook her head. For all she knew, that very well could be the problem. They let themselves in as K greeted them.

Kitty and Jean had started holding afternoon tea with her and the girls were a part of it. They'd barely finished, the twins sleeping soundly, when Logan came in wearing his full uniform, his eyes locking on his wife as the door closed behind him.

He wanted her to train – she didn't want to go. It went downhill from there.

The women and teens were watching the argument like a tennis match while the two usually affectionate ferals snarled back and forth.

In the middle of the argument, Abbey toddled over to her father, snuggling up to him and holding his face very still so she could carefully give him a kiss before melting into his shoulder and patting him while she hummed to herself. K crumbled a little as she watched the scene.

"Go on. I'm waitin'." Logan growled out while their daughter snuggled him. K huffed, but did as he asked. The sisters unsure of what to make of the little scene as it played out.

After they left, the conversation went to college, Jean arguing with Zoe that she needed to have a degree – if nothing else for the experience, Zoe arguing that she didn't need a degree to join the team.

After that, every time Zoe saw Jean it was the same argument.

The morning their argument occurred in the kitchen with Scott walking in during it was frustrating for Jean.

"It's just two years, Zo – it won't hurt – you'll have fun, make new friends …. learn new things, come _on. _What are you interested in?" Jean tried for what felt like the four thousandth time.

"Hmmm. Well, I'm _interested_ in joining the team. Is there a college course for that?" Zoe countered. Scott sniggered and all hell broke loose. Jean turned on him, chewing him out for telling Zoe she could join the team if she liked. He defended himself by saying she could – like anyone else if she shows the proficiency.

"And she's already highly proficient. Better than we were when we started the team – and we didn't have Wolverine training us for combat and self defense. She does – even takes extra time with him. She's ready now, if you want my honest opinion." Scott replied. Zoe was over the moon, Jean was furious, turning on her heel as she stomped off.

"I'm going to ask Logan what _he thinks._ You know, Scott, it's awfully convenient that you say things like this when you know he won't talk to _you._" Jean snarled over her shoulder. The front door slammed as she disappeared and Zoe turned to Scott.

"Is that true? I can join the team?" she asked, bright eyed and bouncing on her toes. Scott tried to stifle his smile with little success – team discussions were to be had with a serious face only.

"Junior team member only – and not until you turn eighteen." Scott replied with a grin. "Professor's condition." Zoe positively squealed as she rushed to hug Scott. He quickly set his mug down a split second before she threw herself at him, arms around his neck in a bear hug, laughing. He couldn't help but laugh with her. He was damned proud of the girl.

"Alright, alright – you've got a training uniform, but you never did give me a code name. Think of one, you can design a uniform of your own if you want, and get back to me. You'll start in training with the junior team this weekend if you'd like." She tried to get control of herself, grinning like a Cheshire cat as she straightened out her shirt and beamed at him.

"Welcome to the X-Men, Zoe. Hope you survive the experience." He said with a smirk. Her eyes widened at the last part of his statement. Oh shit. This was real.

"Thanks, Mr. Summers." she grinned. She had to tell her sister.

…...

Chloe was thrilled for her sister, and as an extension, it gave her a benchmark as to how far she had to go before she could be considered for the team too. Her sessions with Charles were going along much better than either of them had hoped, and Chloe had an edge over many of the telepaths whose ability lay solely with humans – she could turn it off. She wasn't as far reaching as they were – and they were still working on distance – but when the sound of other people's thoughts got to be too much, she could simply switch it off. What she found though, was that most people's thoughts were nothing she really wanted to hear. Nearly every teenager around her was focused solely on herself, and with a fair bit of guilt, she realized she was no different. She began to wonder to herself what she could offer a team and made the mistake of asking Mrs. Summers.

"Oh no. Not you too – your sister has refused to even consider college, but you – you are one of the smartest kids I've seen come though here and we've been filling out applications. _You are going, young lady." _ she barked. It set Chloe back, particularly since she had no intentions of _not_ going to college. She wanted to be a vet, after all.

"You don't understand, Mrs. Summers – I _am_ going to college. I don't even want to delay it, I'm asking as a hypothetical. What could I do to help? Ultimately, what use am I to the team? Because, as far as I can figure, if I'm not telekinetic like you, or if I can't create a psychic blade like Ms. Braddock – I'm a radio." Chloe summed up. "A radio that might be able to talk the neighborhood dogs into biting the bad guys." All the tension left Jean's face and her shoulders fell as she realized what Chloe was getting at.

"You don't want to join the team because you don't think you're powerful enough." Jean said quietly. "But, it doesn't matter what your ability is. If you want a spot on the team, we'd find a way for you to have a spot." Jean told her. "I just want you to keep your options open. This is not the easiest - or smartest 'career' to take on. People die – injuries happen. Usually protecting people that hate us." Chloe nodded. Jean watched her, even scanned her subconsciously. "Let me talk to Scott. See what he thinks."

…...

Apparently, it had been the week of shitty moves on Mr. Summer's part. First, he pissed off K proper – though the girls didn't know how, something had transpired between he and Mr. Drake – resulting in the hot water pipe to his shower freezing solid not five minutes after Mrs. Summers had departed their suite and then he pissed off his wife too. He was making amends faster than he ever had before hoping like hell to repair the damage to various relationships and ties within the mansion. No one knew how he'd managed to trip so many times in the matter of a few days. Today it was Chloe's turn to hear the rare apology from Cyclops.

"When I said before I wasn't sure what you could do for the team, I didn't mean you couldn't join." Scott started to say, now very clearly being careful about his words. "I was stupidly thinking out loud – and I shouldn't even have been thinking that way." He sighed before he continued. "What I'm _trying to say_ is that even if all you could ever do was talk to squirrels, if you wanted on the team, we could find you a place. It may not be on a forward assault team, or even a strike, but we could have a place for you. You've shown incredible aptitude toward computers, and -"

"This really isn't necessary, Mr. Summers." Chloe interrupted. "I don't think that I want to join the team. No, really – just hear me out." Scott had opened his mouth to interrupt, but tactfully, and possibly for the first time in months, wisely closed his mouth and nodded as he waited for her to continue. Chloe took a deep breath and rested her hands on her thighs before finishing.

"My sister has always been the more aggressive one. She's the one you want, and the one I think is a better fit – not to say we both couldn't do it, just, I don't know that I could remain calm and impartial when she was in the line of fire. I want to go be a veterinarian. I think that's' where I can do the most good. Dr. McCoy has helped me with my college applications, and all the admissions essays – and I just got the letter this week that basically says that with the scholarship I've been awarded from the Worthington Foundation – I can pick which school I want. I'm going to be a vet. It's not glamorous, or exciting, but neither am I. However, if you guys find yourself needing help in the lab, I'm your girl." Chloe informed him.

He looked pleased. Never had she interrupted one of their teachers – and rarely did anyone interrupt him.

"I'm really glad you've found your calling, Chlo. I'm really sorry if I discouraged you in any way."

"You didn't. Not one bit."

"Good." Scott let out a sigh of relief. "Now I just gotta figure out how to keep Logan and K on." he mumbled to himself.

"Wait – what?" Chloe asked, alarmed. She knew he and K had a falling out – and the student account of the brawl he and Logan had was making the rounds – especially since Mr. Summers was incredibly bruised up. She didn't think that it was bad enough to prompt the ferals to leave.

"They're mad at me. I screwed up. Seems to be what I've been doing best lately. If you haven't noticed, they haven't come up for anything but their assigned classes and shifts. I'm still not sure how K reacts to this kind of thing, but if it was just Logan on his own, he'd have left already." Chloe appraised him a moment as he shook head before dismissing her.

It took her little time to gather her sister and Jubilee and inform them of the goings on. They still didn't know for sure what had transpired, but Jubes wasn't going to let that slow her down. The three of them rushed down to the boathouse, nervously knocking on the door. Logan called for them to come in as K opened the door and cautiously the trio entered in her wake.

"Hey Jubes. Haven't seen you in a while." Logan said sleepily as he rubbed his eyes and draped his arm around his wife as she settled in at his side.

"Well, yeah, you guys haven't come up in a while. What's up? Are you thinking of leaving?" Jubilee asked. Chloe subtly kicked her ankle. She'd sworn she wasn't going to bring it up.

"It crossed my mind, yeah." Logan replied lazily, and the girls reacted.

"You can't do that! We need you here!" Chloe burst out. Logan stared at her as if she'd lost her mind.

"I didn't say for sure. I said it crossed my mind." Logan replied, sounding affronted. "Damn kids." he grumbled low. It was too much for Jubes to pass up.

"Um … did you _really _just go all grumpy old man on me?" she asked, eyebrows hiding in her widows peak. He just glared at her as his wife snuggled in.

"Don't push yer luck, Jubes." Logan growled back to her. An awkward silence filled the boat house as the couple looked focused on something no one could see. The warm air lending the perfect ambiance for naps – as evidenced by the sleepy children just now waking up from their naps in their rooms. Suddenly, it occurred to Chloe that maybe these two were nearly out themselves when they interrupted them on this late afternoon.

"Will you puh-_leese_ come to dinner tonight?" Jubilee begged properly, her hands clenched together in front of her as she gave them her best puppy dog eyes, the sisters quickly mirroring her actions. She was the pro, after all. K cracked a smile as she sat up to where she could look at him better.

"Your call, love." she said quietly the two of them locking eyes as they both smirked. After a moment, Logan let out a breath and nodded before turning back to Jubes.

"Fine. Ya little brat." he growled out as she grinned back at him. On hearing his answer, Chloe tried hard to reach out to Jean – both in an exercise to stretch her mental prowess, and an effort to mend the rift between Mr. Summers and the ferals. If he was going to apologize, now would be an excellent time. Jean thanked her for the heads up. The girls helped to bring the little ones up for dinner, smiling at the two parents as they swung their oldest girl between them, Abbey laughing hysterically at them and begging for more.

When they reached the mansion, the girls hastily took the littles off while the Summers and the Howletts met face to face for the first time in almost a week. None of them waited to see how it went down, but all was considered more or less back to normal when the two couples made an appearance looking as if all was at least temporarily forgiven.

…...

Spring time at the school became hectic for the girls. Scott was pushing everyone – including the staff, and Logan and K in particular were not being very friendly about it. Zoe felt bad for Scott, seeing as she understood exactly what he was doing. Overcompensating for being an ass – by unintentionally being an ass. He'd felt he'd alienated K, so now he was making a point to watch her give lessons, finally unable to keep his tongue, he began giving pointers to a few of the less talented riders when K was otherwise occupied. She might have taken it better if he'd stopped there, but he couldn't help but begin to question her when she pushed one of them to try harder. Before anyone knew it, K leapt from the horse and shoved the reins in Scott's hands telling him to teach it himself. It was no surprise to the girls when the next class held was being taught by Laura and Kitty.

The ferals were gone. At least for a while. In their absence, Chloe stepped up the prep work for end of year exams while Zoe pushed harder in her training. Logan being gone meant more alone time to focus between martial arts lessons with Rand – which were coming along well. So well, in fact, that Rand had elected to push Zoe more towards another Avenger for hand to hand training. She now met once a month with Rand, who simply had more on his plate now than he did when they began, and the other three lessons of the month were being handled by Miss Romanoff, who decided unilaterally that it was high time Zoe began weapons training.

Initially, Zoe was nervous about handling guns, but by the end of the first lesson, she loved it. It was much more fun than she'd given it credit for. That was until that night, a mere week before the end of school, after the ferals had returned, and disappeared on what Scott was calling a black ops mission.

Logan and K had passed her, arm in arm on the way to the boathouse looking weary, but still smiling together when not two minutes after they'd left the front door, Logan came flying back in, K limp in his arms and bleeding terribly. He shouted at her to keep away from the windows just before starting CPR on her. Zoe of course stepped back as instructed, but when she saw the damage to her friend, she got sick, raising the alarm for him as he frantically worked on her, the blood just pouring from her eye and nose. The flurry of activity was something unusual for the mansion. She simply couldn't stomach the idea of handling a gun anymore. She knew it was a miracle that K was even breathing – with support, but breathing still.

When Mr. Cassidy sent her to her room, of course the first thing she did was to tell her sister and Jubilee – both of whom were totally shell shocked at the news.

"She's going to die." Chloe said, tears in her eyes.

"No! If she dies, he'll leave." Jubilee replied, outraged at the thought. The girls heard shouting at the foot of the stairs and ventured out to see what they could discover, only to be horrified as Charles shouted at Magneto that he couldn't do this -

"Erik, please – you should leave them here. You don't have the facilities on Avalon we do – let her heal." they heard him say, voice raised as none of them had heard before.

"Taking her with was part of the conditions, old friend. He's agreed to help me – it was his choice to pay me for my help, he knew going into it the price was high and you know as well as I do that the only way I will be able to trust him is if I have a little leverage – beaten up and likely as good as dead, but she is leverage just the same. Our doctors are just as capable as McCoy." Erik answered. "I promise that when she dies, we'll allow all of you to go to the funeral, if you wish."

Jubilee closed the door to the girls' room shortly after they listened to Magneto walk away, Charles shouting after him.

"I have to stop this." Jubilee whispered. She tried to talk to Logan – he wouldn't listen, packing a few things, handing her one of his flannels that she loved.

"I'm sorry, Jubes." was all he said, his face stony as he prepared to leave. The sisters were heartbroken and furious as they made the case for him to stay. "Enough! I'm not going to tell you again – I'm keeping my word – he did me a favor. He helped her – and we're going. That's all there is to it." he snarled at her shortly before the transport was due to show.

The argument then being about taking the kids. Something was off on his face as he told them the rest of the arrangements. Harsh words were said – things that no one meant. Jubilee in particular was heartbroken as Logan lashed out at her – never had he been that angry with her before.

…...

Shortly after the feral family departed Xaviers' Jubilee angrily stomped from the house, headed toward the boathouse. She was furious with Logan, hating K in that moment, until she slipped on the grass and fell backwards, horrified when she stood up to find that the wet spot in the grass that had made her loose her footing was the congealed puddle of K's blood. She looked down and realized her hands were coated in it, her backside and one leg was coated as well. Looking at the grass, she could almost see how K had fallen and where Logan had knelt next to her, a bare patch in the grass from where the toe on his boot had torn the turf loose when he'd scooped her up and ran for help. Her hands started to shake and she hurried down to the boathouse, finding it unlocked and the door open.

She stumbled inside, tears in her eyes as the true gravity of the situation hit her. Until just now, she was angry at K – mourning the possibility of not seeing Wolvie again – at least, not seeing him on their side. He was Magneto's. That was the price he'd had to pay for the master of magnetism to try and help his wife.

Now, with K's blood on her hands, she was mourning _with_ Logan. He'd likely lost his wife. The woman that had given him everything he'd wanted was gone as far as she knew, and his little one's futures were grim if their influence was to be Magneto and his followers. The injustice of it all crashed down on her and she fell to her knees, crying for his sake, and the loss the family of Xaviers had sustained.

That was how Storm and the sisters found her. Bloodied and crying in the entry of the boathouse.

All three of them failed every single end of the year exam.


	37. Senior Year again

The girls were depressed. Start of summer vacation – the summer vacation of their senior year, and they'd screwed up.

"How did we fail every single test? How? Don't we get points or forgiveness or something due to traumatic circumstances?" Zoe asked. Chloe was destroyed. She'd tried hard this last year – given it her all, and then … well, she just didn't think that losing her friend would have such an impact on her. Jubilee was unreachable. She didn't care so much about bombing the last semester. She'd just re-do it in the fall. The other two would as well, but it would effect Chloe more than either Jubes or Zoe. She was the one with all the college acceptance letters. Poor Chloe.

Rumors around campus were hard to hear. They varied wildly depending on the person telling them. Most of them placed blame squarely on K's shoulders, and those that didn't blamed Logan. The girls knew it wasn't exactly right, but seeing as Cyclops didn't know or wouldn't share what had really happened to drop Logan's wife, interpretation was left to the individual.

Chloe stayed near her sister, but simply threw herself into her studies. She couldn't understand how she screwed up so badly. She'd talked the teachers into giving her the corrected essays and tests, and reading her responses, she was ashamed of herself. She _knew_ this stuff. Solid. But you'd never know it to see what she'd written. And her essays were freshman level at best. UGH. Maybe this was a good thing – maybe she simply wasn't ready for college yet.

Summer vacation started out lazy. When the girls weren't grumping in the sisters' room they were grumping poolside. None of them felt the desire to go to the barn and ride. It was just a reminder of why they'd failed their classes. Anything that brought either K or Logan to mind put them in a deeper funk. Jubilee was having a hard time wrapping her head around the fact that he was working for Magneto now. _Magneto._ OF all the low down, dirty rotten things to do – turned his back on his friends – just – no. NO, she couldn't think of that without getting mad at him. At her. Why did she even have to come here? Yes, Jubilee was back to hating K. Mostly because this was worse than when he simply left. At least when he took off to clear his head before _her_ he'd send her a letter to let her know he was alright. But here they were two weeks since they'd left and no one even knew if his gamble to save her had been fruitful in any way or if he'd just sold his soul to Magneto for nothing.

The sisters were in mourning, however. Both of them were thoroughly convinced that K was dead. The science said there was no way she'd recover. Chloe had asked Dr. McCoy about K's chances, and though he didn't really answer her, he had to turn his back to her as tears spilled onto the soft fur on his cheeks. They missed the little ones – worried on how they were taking the loss of their mother.

…...

The three girls were up late watching a movie and throwing popcorn at each other when the silent alarm went off. They tensed as they watched Cyclops and Jean calmly walk toward the front door – both of them looking determined and ticked the hell off. They stood and started to follow when Forge passed them by, telling them to stay where they were before rushing behind the two Summers'. Twenty minutes later, they heard Scott's angry voice outside the front door – and Jubilee's expression went slack as she heard Wolvie's smoky voice telling them to 'wait – lemmie explain'. Incensed, she wanted nothing more than to walk out there and kick him in the teeth. The doors opened up and the trio watched from the game room as they hauled him in – tied up tightly. Her anger melted away when after the doors were closed, Scott kneeled next to Logan's head and told him to relax.

"We're on your side." Scott said quietly as Jean removed the restraints. Logan wasn't alone in looking confused as the sisters restrained her from rushing out to them.

"You don't know what's going on." Zoe said wisely. "Wait and see. We're in enough trouble as it is."

Maybe it was maturity finally kicking in, but for once, Jubilee agreed and returned to her seat as Scott and Forge escorted Logan to the lower levels – almost like a prisoner. He glanced their way as he passed, looking haunted as he locked eyes for a second with Jubilee. The action didn't endear him to her.

The girls quickly decided that whatever was going on wouldn't need their help unless Scott told them it did. Jubes was in a mood bad enough that she wasn't sure if she _would _help if asked to.

It was three days of continued lounging and feeling sorry for themselves when in the middle of the day, the team scrambled, even Xavier leaving with them. The sisters were positively shocked – in all their time there, Xavier hadn't gone on any missions of any sort, so this was a bit alarming.

"They're going to Magneto." Jubilee said clearly as she watched the blackbird ascend.

"Scott wouldn't say where they were headed – how can you sound so sure?" Zoe asked, irritated that Jubes might have insider's info.

"Charlie went with." was her simple answer as she turned to look at them. "They're either going for Wolvie, or they're going to fight."

"What about K?" Zoe asked – still halfway holding out hope for her friend.

"What about her?" Jubilee replied coldly, fire in her eyes as she walked away from the sisters.

Hours later, the sisters were waiting patiently for their return – and they weren't disappointed. Minutes before their arrival, a SHIELD transport team arrived, armed to the teeth with plastic weaponry. They didn't knock as they entered, following the SHIELD director as he led them to the lower levels. They didn't see them again until almost an hour later, well after the blackbird landed. When they passed through the common areas again, they had a bloodied and battered looking Magneto in custody. The girls were wide eyed as he passed them by.

The next day, well into the afternoon, Logan was finally spotted carrying Abbey, who was sporting a cast on her arm. To their shock, K was right behind him, the little ones each holding a hand as she timidly followed his lead. She glanced up at the girls and was taken back by the look of pure hatred on Jubilee's face. They didn't see her again for nearly a week, and when they did, she took one look at them and slipped away before they could corner her. Apparently, the rumors had gotten back to K on all that was speculated, and now she was distancing herself. They were wondering if they'd see her again at all. Logan told them to keep trying – that she'd come around eventually, though he and Jubilee had not yet begun to mend their fences.

It was halfway through July when the sisters decided to make an effort to talk to their old friend. Chloe had been the one to point out that K had to be feeling isolated since right now the only people that spoke to her outside of her little family was a handful of the adults in the mansion. Apparently, even though she had no control over any of it, some of them had a somewhat similar stance as what Jubilee was holding tightly to. The little they'd seen of K had shown that the woman was acting self conscious.

They almost thought she wasn't in the boat house when she didn't respond to their knock the first time. Zoe lifted her hand to knock a second time and was shocked at the wide eyed, nervous expression on K's face when she slowly opened the door to them.

Hank was right – she was different. Though coming out of her injuries being entirely herself was a pipe dream. The fact that she was breathing with any personality at all was miraculous.

"We've missed you." Zoe said, wrapping her arms around the little woman and squeezing her tightly. That's all it took for K to break down crying as she clutched to Zoe. She'd been thoroughly convinced that all the girls hated her as Jubilee did. They spent the next few hours with her, both sides filling in the other on what had happened. Little Abbey cheerfully joining them – her cast now covered with little drawings and signatures from nearly everyone in the mansion.

"We'll talk to Jubilee." Chloe told her diplomatically. "I think she just got scared." K shook her head.

"No. She has never liked me. She put up with me, but this," she gestured to her eye where she'd been shot "was all my fault. It would probably have been better for most people here if I'd just died." The only sounds in the room were of the little girl and her tea party. "Just … forget it. Worry about your studies. I understand I screwed that up for you too – no college this fall?" K said quietly before she stood and made her way to join her daughter on the floor.

"Well, no – but that's not a big deal, really. I'll just start a semester late – or wait until next year. Really, we're just glad you're alive." Chloe said, distraught at K's macabre thoughts. Was she trying to sway the girls to Jubilee's line of thinking?

Before the conversation could continue, Logan came in – a little surprised to see the sisters.

"Hey girls – you checkin' on her for me?" he asked – trying to give the girls a cover if they needed it.

"Um, not really, no." Zoe said, her eyebrows wrinkled up. Clearly she didn't catch his subtle cover story for them. "Do you know how depressed she is?" Zoe asked, catching both ferals off guard.

"I'm – I'm not _that_ depressed." K stammered, though Logan looked unconvinced.

"Yes you are." he countered.

"We can babysit for a while if you two need a moment." Zoe offered. Logan watched her a moment before he nodded.

"Thanks, but not today. Just do me a favor and tell Jubes to pull her head outta her ass." Logan replied before disappearing into their bedroom. The girls stood, gathering themselves as they decided now was a good time to leave. "K's starting training in the morning." Logan told them, now changed into jeans, and straightening out his white t-shirt as he emerged from the room. "I'd like Jubes to be on board with helping if we need it. Let her know, wouldja?" The sisters readily agreed and rushed off, leaving the couple to themselves.

Jubilee was incensed at the request, refusing to help until she got a moment alone with K. Logan didn't want to go along with it, not until K stepped around him and led Jubilee to one of the better soundproofed ready rooms, locking the door behind them and waiting, letting Jubilee get everything off her chest that she needed to. The girls, and Logan had expected a shouting match, and were watching from outside the room. They were disappointed. It started with a glare on Jubilee's part, and within minutes she had tears flowing freely as she spoke quietly with K, who simply allowed her to get it all off her chest, finally starting to cry a bit herself. By the time it was over, all was well – Jubes even seeming to be glad to have K back as the two hugged.

When the door opened, Jubes rushed out and hugged Logan, apologizing for being a brat and volunteering to coach or babysit or whatever was needed.

"What's this about you three failing all your finals?" Logan asked before the girls could make a break for it.

"I guess we were a little more upset than we thought." Zoe replied. "I just couldn't even begin to think to answer anything."

"And Scott didn't cut you any slack?" K asked.

"Well – we kind of told him we were fine. It's alright. We'll just finish up in the fall. It's not that big of a deal." Chloe cut in. "Honestly, we're fine." The girls had decided when they got their results not to push for special treatment. They screwed up – they should have asked for leniency, but since they didn't they were prepared to tough it out. As it turned out, Jubilee wouldn't have had the credits to graduate anyhow, and Chloe was nervous about leaving for college.

…...

By fall, the three knew they had the run of the place. They knew the subject matter they screwed up, and Jubilee and Chloe took the opportunity to really cement more solid college applications, visit a few campuses, and actually relax as a change of pace.

It was the relaxing part that got them into trouble.

K was off on a mission for Fury – no one but Logan knew what the story was, and he was on a mission himself somewhere in the jungle with Scott and Rogue. Ms. Munroe was walking by the living room when she stopped just past the door and backed up, looking into the room that held the three girls. Jubilee was on the couch – somewhat. Her head was hanging over the edge blowing massive bubbles and her feet were up where her head should have been. Chloe was lying across the loveseat in a similar position as she played on her cell phone and Zoe was yawning widely in the chair nearest the window clearly half asleep.

"Are you girls enjoying your study hour?" Ms. Munroe asked, slightly amused, knowing that the girls knew the material inside and out.

"Oh yea. It's a real tough one." Jubilee answered as she twirled her foot. The ebony goddess stifled a laugh.

"Perhaps you three would accompany me then? Since you're so hard at work with your studies?" Ms. Munroe asked with a grin. She didn't need to ask twice as the three of them popped up from their positions, more than ready to do anything – anything at all. "Wonderful." she smiled. "I have a little errand to run, why don't you all suit up and join me?" she asked – there was literally nothing that she could have said to excite the girls more than that. "Be ready in ten minutes." she told them – the girls nearly knocking her over as they rushed past her to the locker room.

…...

Once airborne, the girls excitement only grew. Storm had never told them what she had on her agenda, only that they could join her. An hour's flight later, they discovered the mission – a girl that the X-Men had helped not long after the sisters had arrived needed relocating – and fast. They were surprised to see her, a lovely blond girl with a cloudy eye, and a small blond boy in tow.

"Daisy, you didn't get to meet the girls when you were with us – please, say hello to Chloe, Zoe and Jubilee." Storm said, introducing them. Daisy grinned nervously as she hitched her bag on her shoulder. "And who is this little scamp?" Storm asked as she picked up the precocious little boy that was smiling at her, holding her knee for balance.

"That's Tyler." Daisy said shyly. "If he wasn't with me, I'd deal with this on my own – but I don't want him hurt." she told them "I can't thank you enough for your help." Storm simply smiled at her as Tyler played with her long white hair.

"We told you if you needed any help, we'd be happy to give it." Storm reiterated before turning to the three teens. "Ladies – they need to relocate quickly. Please, grab a bag – we must load up."

With that, the girls rushed to pick up what little Daisy and Tyler had, rushing back to the jet, and within a matter of a few hours, the wayward pair was in their new apartment – several states away from Nevada, where they'd lived without incident until the week before. Daisy laid the little boy in his bed as he sighed in his sleep – tuckered out from the excitement. Everything had been arranged prior to leaving Westchester, so it was simply a matter of pick up and go. Daisy looked as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

"Will you be alright now, Daisy? Charles' offer still stands – you and your son are welcome any time." Storm told her. Daisy shook her head sadly.

"No, thank you though. Please let him know I'll be in touch. I feel badly even asking for help." she replied. Jubilee could barely keep her eyes off the little boy as the women talked. He looked so peaceful. Fair skinned, soft blonde hair that curled at his neck. As she watched him sleep he rolled onto his side, clutching his teddy bear looking like a little blonde cherub and prompting her to cover him with a soft fuzzy blanket. When she did, he seemed to smile a little in his sleep – almost a smirk on his tiny face. She had to smile at him.

Storm was too kind to ask who the father was, or why he hadn't tried to help them, so the girls decided it wasn't important. Daisy thanked them and they took their leave as she promised to keep in touch. Chloe was a bit shaken on the way back – the girl couldn't have been more than a few years older than them, and she had a small child – alone.

Suddenly, Chloe's mind drifted to how her love life had been going. She and Peter had kind of … petered out. When they were together, it was easy, fun. But the time they had together was getting to be rare. She was properly surprised when they returned to find a bouquet of sunflowers waiting for her on her bedside table with a note from her friendly neighborhood Spiderman.

_Sorry I've been so busy. Friday night? - Peter_

She sighed to herself and nodded, picking up the phone and sending him a quick text. Hopefully, he wouldn't stand her up or cancel last minute again. She was ready to give up on him if he did.

…...

That Friday night, Chloe got dressed up as grown up looking as she had the wardrobe for while her sister suited up to take off with Cyclops. She curled her hair, did her makeup and took her time going down stairs to wait. She was 98% sure she was going to be stood up, so she started picking at the nearest pizza on the counter while the bulk of the student body gathered for movie night. She began to watch from the kitchen when a familiar voice made her date's presence known.

"I didn't think I was quite _that_ late." Peter said with a grin as he reached around Chloe to pick up a slice of pizza himself. She started to laugh at herself. Of course he'd show for their dinner date when she fully expected him not to. He apologized for his tardiness and the two of them decided on skipping a normal date as Peter wanted to know what exactly the residents of Xavier's did for fun around the mansion – hoping that by sticking close to the school he wouldn't be compelled to disappear in a heroic endeavor.

It worked perfectly. In all the years Peter had spent around the X-Men, he'd never once taken any time to look around anywhere out side of the sub levels and the main floor. Chloe was taking him around the estate – starting with a pleasant walk down by the lake. They found their way to the rocky shoreline and a large flat rock near the waters' edge.

Once they were there, little was said as the two quickly turned the early parts of their date into a serious make out session.

…...

"Who is he?" Zoe asked for what felt like the thousandth time.

"Figure it out yourself." Chloe replied. She hated this. Every single time she came back from seeing Peter, her sister would pester the hell out of her for an answer.

"But don't you think your life would be so much easier if you just told me?"

"No. Not for me." Jubilee snicked at the two sisters.

"I can't believe you haven't figured it out yet." Jubes chuckled. Zoe had left it alone for the longest time, but now, with no studies to slow her down, she was going to figure him out.

…...

Not long after the ferals moved back into the house, Zoe began running missions as a junior member of the X-Men. Initially, she simply ran the coms, and kept communications open. She was on a short mission with Banshee when he had her join him in the field. They were after his cousin, and in the middle of the mess, Zoe found herself hanging from a crane – Black Tom's best lap dog having simply tossed her out of his way. She was losing her grip as Banshee fought on the street below. The next thing she knew, she was swinging blocks away from the battle. She turned her head to find herself in Spiderman's arms until he found a place to set her down.

"Wait! I have to go back there!" she shouted, rushing for the fire escape.

"HEY! You can't go back – That's the Juggernaut down there!" the tone in his voice was something familiar, even as he was sounding totally exasperated.

"I'm an X-Man. I've trained for this, and right now, my team mate needs me." she shouted as she slipped down the fire escape, Spidey hot on her heels, sweeping her up and setting her another block down from where they'd just stood.

"Knock it off! I'm going!" she shouted as she found another ladder to the ground. This time, he webbed her, suspending her just slightly over the ground in a cocoon like web that kept her from escaping easily.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you get hurt – X-Man or not." Spidey told her as he hung upside down.

Zoe wrinkled her nose. Then suddenly gasped.

"Oh my god! Why didn't I see it sooner?" she said, wide eyed and in total shock.

"Now wait – don't say it out loud, please?"

"Oh, I'm going to unless you let me down." Zoe threatened. "Count of three. One … Two..."

"FINE!" he shouted out, quickly letting her down and tearing open the webbing. "Just trying to help you. Don't want Chloe having a fit because I missed keeping you from killing yourself." he grumbled.

"You gonna give me a ride?" she asked, picking bits of webbing off her uniform. He dropped his shoulders and sighed.

"Dangit." he grumbled before motioning her to grab on, swinging right back to where Banshee was finding himself losing the battle against Black Tom and Juggernaut – until Zoe let loose a massive shock wave, blasting Juggernaut off his feet while Spidey started slinging web as quickly as he could, wrapping the massive mutant like a spider would a fly in an attempt to keep him from making use of any movement.

With Juggernaut at least temporarily restrained, the three heroes turned their attention to Black Tom, and after a quick battle he was lost to the night.

"Let 'im go." Banshee said, half winded. "We've enough to handle wi'this mess." he told them.

On returning to the mansion, Zoe was feeling pretty damn good. She'd got to stop the bad guy – on a real mission – _and_ she figured out who her sister was dating. Stepping out of the jet, she was shocked at the amount of security suddenly in place, and the odd smell in the hall. She worked her way to the lab to ask Dr. McCoy what was happening, but was stopped at the door by Mr. Wagner.

"I'm sorry, Zoe, but zere is no admission for anyone but senior staff and zose zat haf been injured." he told her.

"Injured by what?" Zoe asked.

"Did you and Banshee just arrive?" he asked, clearly surprised that they'd missed the festivities. Zoe nodded.

"Oh – Sabretooth and Daken attacked. They are both in custody, and are both very high risk, so no one is permitted." he explained. She nodded instead made her way upstairs where the buzz was already going about K's fight with the two, and her overly proud riding class that had a hand in helping. Chloe was excited, telling her sister all about the whole thing.

"So, you missed your date tonight then, huh?" Zoe asked. Chloes' shoulders dropped as she nodded.

"Yeah. Something came up – as usual."

"That's what happens when you date Spiderman." Zoe said off handedly.

"Tell me about it – wait." Chloe said, freezing in her tracks – was she testing her, or had she figured it out. Zoe smiled.

"Relax – I saw him tonight. Figured it out finally. It was his voice." she told him. Chloe let out a breath. It was such a relief to be able to talk to her sister about him now.


End file.
